Vice President

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “… The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole numbers of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice….”  If no vice presidential candidate has a majority of elector votes, the Senate has the right and responsibility to choose the next Vice President of the United States.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained the numbers:  “Notice that two-thirds of the whole Senate must be in attendance, and a majority of these could make the selection.  This means that sixty-seven Senators could constitute a quorum and as few as thirty-four Senators could choose the Vice President.”  (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 716.)

Settling Ties

The principle for this Constitution Monday is found in Article I.3.4, "The Vice President shall not be allowed to vote unless there is a tie and his vote is necessary to make a decision." The Founders provided to members of the Senate the Right to be independent of influence from the Vice President except when his opinion is necessary to break a tie vote. The Vice President has made the deciding vote in more than 200 cases. This provision keeps the Vice President aware of affairs, both domestic and foreign, and should help him or her to be better prepared to assume the duties of President in case of death, removal, or incapacity of the President.

Vice President Presides

The principle for this Constitution Monday is found in Article I.3.4, "The Vice President shall serve as the presiding officer over the Senate." A Vice President is elected to serve all the people and has the responsibility under this provision to preside over the Senators who represent individual states. The Vice President is the only federal officer whose duties are in both the legislative and the executive branches. With the responsibility to preside over the Senate, the Vice President has a specific duty to perform. The Vice President cannot take part in any debate or vote except to break a tie.