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ELEC-009 — Direct Election of the President and Vice President Amendment

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish presidential electors and provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President by the people of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two-thirds of each House concurring therein, that the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States:

ARTICLE — DIRECT ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

Section 1. Direct election.

The President and Vice President shall be elected directly by the people of the United States. Presidential electors are abolished.

Section 2. Joint candidacy and voter choice.

Each candidate for President shall run jointly with a candidate for Vice President. Each voter shall cast a single vote for one joint ticket for President and Vice President.

The joint ticket receiving the greatest number of lawful votes cast nationwide shall be elected President and Vice President, except as Congress may by law provide for a national runoff, ranked-choice tabulation, or other uniform majority mechanism.

Section 4. Uniform national administration.

Congress shall by law provide uniform rules for ballot access, vote counting, national certification, recounts, contests, result transmission, vacancies in candidacy, and resolution of ties or unresolved contests. States shall administer elections for President and Vice President subject to this Constitution and laws enacted under this article.

Section 5. Existing terms and succession.

This article does not alter the commencement or duration of presidential or vice-presidential terms, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, or the law of presidential succession, except to the extent necessary to implement direct election.

Section 6. Repeal of inconsistent provisions.

The provisions of Article II, Section 1; the Twelfth Amendment; the Twentieth Amendment; and the Twenty-Third Amendment that are inconsistent with this article are superseded to the extent of the inconsistency.

Section 7. Enforcement and implementation.

Congress shall have power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 8. Effective date.

This article shall take effect for the first presidential election occurring more than two years after ratification, unless Congress by law provides a later effective date.

Budgetary Impact Statement

No direct appropriation is anticipated for the amendment itself; implementing legislation may have costs.

Note: Preliminary ARRP assessment only; not a CBO, OMB, agency, or legislative-counsel score.

Drafting Notes

  • This is a first working draft of a constitutional amendment.
  • The draft abolishes presidential electors and creates direct national election of the President and Vice President.
  • The default rule is national plurality, but Congress may provide a uniform majority mechanism such as a runoff or ranked-choice tabulation.
  • Implementing legislation will be required for ballot access, national certification, recounts, contests, result transmission, candidate vacancy, tie, and transition procedures.
  • The likely enabling legislation vehicle is a title 52 amendment to federal election-administration law, paired with conforming title 3 amendments for elector-based provisions made obsolete or inconsistent by ratification.
  • A first working draft of that enabling legislation is maintained in ELEC-009 - Direct Presidential Election Implementation Act.
  • Implementation legislation should specify national canvass and certification rules, recount thresholds, contest jurisdiction, expedited review, candidate replacement, unresolved-contest treatment, transition timing, and emergency contingencies before this amendment is treated as publication-ready.
  • The draft preserves state administration subject to uniform federal rules enacted under the amendment.
  • The draft supersedes inconsistent parts of Article II, the Twelfth Amendment, the Twentieth Amendment, and the Twenty-Third Amendment rather than attempting to rewrite each clause inline.

Source Notes

  • Source review should include Article II, Section 1, the Twelfth Amendment, the Twentieth Amendment, and the Twenty-Third Amendment.
  • Article V is the controlling amendment vehicle for proposal and ratification thresholds. Direct prior-proposal review should include congressional constitutional-amendment analogues such as H.J.Res. 7, S.J.Res. 16, and S.J.Res. 17 from the 116th Congress.
  • Historical predicate review should include official FEC election-result compilations for the 2000 and 2016 modern popular-vote/electoral-vote divergence examples.
  • Implementation review should compare existing presidential-election certification and expedited-review procedure in 3 U.S.C. § 5 and the federal election-administration infrastructure in 52 U.S.C. chapter 209, with title 52 as the likely affirmative codification home and title 3 as the conforming-amendment target.
  • The accompanying first enabling draft should be reviewed against 3 U.S.C. chapter 1, 28 U.S.C. § 2284, and 28 U.S.C. § 1253 before external circulation.