The following provisions of law governing Presidential Elections are contained
in
Chapter 1 of Title 3, United States Code (62 Stat. 672, as amended):
TITLE 3 THE PRESIDENT
Chapter 1. Presidential Elections and Vacancies
Section
1. Time of appointing electors.
2. Failure to make choice on prescribed day.
3. Number of electors.
4. Vacancies in electoral college.
5. Determination of controversy as to appointment of electors.
6. Credentials of electors; transmission to Archivist of the United States
and to
Congress; public inspection.
7. Meeting and vote of electors.
8. Manner of voting.
9. Certificates of votes for President and Vice President.
10. Sealing and endorsing certificates.
11. Disposition of certificates.
12. Failure of certificates of electors to reach President of the Senate
or Archivist
of the United States; demand on State for certificate.
13. Same; demand on district judge for certificate.
14. Forfeiture for messenger's neglect of duty.
15. Counting electoral votes in Congress.
16. Same; seats for officers and Members of two Houses in joint meeting.
17. Same; limit of debate in each House.
18. Same; parliamentary procedure at joint meeting.
19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible
to
act.
20. Resignation or refusal of office.
21. Definitions.
Chapter 1. Presidential Elections and Vacancies
Time of appointing electors
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§ 1. The electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed,
in each
State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every
fourth
year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President.
Failure to make choice on prescribed day
§ 2. Whenever any State has held an election for the purpose of choosing
electors, and has failed to make a choice on the day prescribed by law,
the
electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature
of such State may direct.
Number of electors
§ 3. The number of electors shall be equal to the number of Senators
and
Representatives to which the several States are by law entitled at the
time when
the President and Vice President to be chosen come into office; except,
that
where no apportionment of Representatives has been made after any enumeration,
at the time of choosing electors, the number of electors shall be according
to the
then existing apportionment of Senators and Representatives.
Vacancies in electoral college
§ 4. Each State may, by law, provide for the filling of any vacancies
which may
occur in its college of electors when such college meets to give its electoral
vote.
Determination of controversy as to appointment of electors
§ 5. If any State shall have provided, by laws enacted prior to the
day fixed for
the appointment of the electors, for its final determination of any controversy
or
contest concerning the appointment of all or any of the electors of such
State, by
judicial or other methods or procedures, and such determination shall have
been
made at least six days before the time fixed for the meeting of the electors,
such
determination made pursuant to such law so existing on said day, and made
at
least six days prior to said time of meeting of the electors, shall be
conclusive, and
shall govern in the counting of the electoral votes as provided in the
Constitution,
and as hereinafter regulated, so far as the ascertainment of the electors
appointed
by such State is concerned.
Credentials of electors; transmission to Archivist of the United States
and to
Congress; public inspection
§ 6. It shall be the duty of the executive of each State, as soon
as practicable after
the conclusion of the appointment of the electors in such State by the
final
ascertainment, under and in pursuance of the laws of such State providing
for such
ascertainment, to communicate by registered mail under the seal of the
State to the
Archivist of the United States a certificate of such ascertainment of the
electors
appointed, setting forth the names of such electors and the canvass or
other
ascertainment under the laws of such State of the number of votes given
or cast
for each person for whose appointment any and all votes have been given
or cast;
and it shall also thereupon be the duty of the executive of each State
to deliver to
the electors of such State, on or before the day on which they are required
by
section 7 of this title to meet, six duplicate-originals of the same certificate
under
the seal of the State; and if there shall have been any final determination
in a State
in the manner provided for by law of a controversy or contest concerning
the
appointment of all or any of the electors of such State, it shall be the
duty of the
executive of such State, as soon as practicable after such determination,
to
communicate under the seal of the State to the Archivist of the United
States a
certificate of such determination in form and manner as the same shall
have been
made; and the certificate or certificates so received by the Archivist
of the United
States shall be preserved by him for one year and shall be a part of the
public
records of his office and shall be open to public inspection; and the Archivist
of
the United States at the first meeting of Congress thereafter shall transmit
to the
two Houses of Congress copies in full of each and every such certificate
so
received at the National Archives and Records Administration.
Meeting and vote of electors
§ 7. The electors of President and Vice President of each State shall
meet and
give their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December
next following their appointment at such place in each State as the legislature
of
such State shall direct.
Manner of voting
§ 8. The electors shall vote for President and Vice President, respectively,
in the
manner directed by the Constitution.
Certificates of votes for president and vice president
§ 9. The electors shall make and sign six certificates of all the
votes given by them,
each of which certificates shall contain two distinct lists, one of the
votes for
President and the other of the votes for Vice President, and shall annex
to each of
the certificates one of the lists of the electors which shall have been
furnished to
them by direction of the executive of the State.
Sealing and endorsing certificates
§ 10. The electors shall seal up the certificates so made by them,
and certify upon
each that the lists of all the votes of such State given for President,
and of all the
votes given for Vice President, are contained therein.
Disposition of certificates
| 3 USC Ch. 1, Table of Contents |
§ 11. The electors shall dispose of the certificates so made by them
and the lists
attached thereto in the following manner:
First. They shall forthwith forward by registered mail one of the same
to the
President of the Senate at the seat of government.
Second. Two of the same shall be delivered to the secretary of state of
the State,
one of which shall be held subject to the order of the President of the
Senate, the
other to be preserved by him for one year and shall be a part of the public
records
of his office and shall be open to public inspection.
Third. On the day thereafter they shall forward by registered mail two
of such
certificates and lists to the Archivist of the United States at the seat
of government,
one of which shall be held subject to the order of the President of the
Senate. The
other shall be preserved by the Archivist of the United States for one
year and
shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to
public
inspection.
Fourth. They shall forthwith cause the other of the certificates and lists
to be
delivered to the judge of the district in which the electors shall have
assembled.
Failure of certificates of electors to reach President of the Senate
or Archivist of the
United States; demand on state for certificate
§ 12. When no certificate of vote and list mentioned in sections 9
and 11 and of
this title from any State shall have been received by the President of
the Senate or
by the Archivist of the United States by the fourth Wednesday in December,
after
the meeting of the electors shall have been held, the President of the
Senate or, if
he be absent from the seat of government, the Archivist of the United States
shall
request, by the most expeditious method available, the secretary of state
of the
State to send up the certificate and list lodged with him by the electors
of such
State; and it shall be his duty upon receipt of such request immediately
to transmit
same by registered mail to the President of the Senate at the seat of government.
Same; demand on district judge for certificate
§ 13. When no certificates of votes from any State shall have been
received at the
seat of government on the fourth Wednesday in December, after the meeting
of
the electors shall have been held, the President of the Senate or, if he
be absent
from the seat of government, the Archivist of the United States shall send
a special
messenger to the district judge in whose custody one certificate of votes
from that
State has been lodged, and such judge shall forthwith transmit that list
by the hand
of such messenger to the seat of government.
Forfeiture for messenger's neglect of duty
§ 14. Every person who, having been appointed, pursuant to section
13 of this
title, to deliver the certificates of the votes of the electors to the
President of the
Senate, and having accepted such appointment, shall neglect to perform
the
services required from him, shall forfeit the sum of $1,000.
Counting electoral votes in Congress
§ 15. Congress shall be in session on the sixth day of January succeeding
every
meeting of the electors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall
meet in
the Hall of the House of Representatives at the hour of 1 o'clock in the
afternoon
on that day, and the President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer.
Two
tellers shall be previously appointed on the part of the Senate and two
on the part
of the House of Representatives, to whom shall be handed, as they are opened
by
the President of the Senate, all the certificates and papers purporting
to be
certificates of the electoral votes, which certificates and papers shall
be opened,
presented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning
with
the letter A; and said tellers, having then read the same in the presence
and
hearing of the two Houses, shall make a list of the votes as they shall
appear from
the said certificates; and the votes having been ascertained and counted
according
to the rules in this subchapter provided, the result of the same shall
be delivered to
the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of
the vote,
which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons,
if
any, elected President and Vice President of the United States, and, together
with
a list of the votes, be entered on the Journals of the two Houses. Upon
such
reading of any such certificate or paper, the President of the Senate shall
call for
objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall
state clearly
and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed
by at
least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before
the
same shall be received. When all objections so made to any vote or paper
from a
State shall have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon withdraw,
and
such objections shall be submitted to the Senate for its decision; and
the Speaker
of the House of Representatives shall, in like manner, submit such objections
to
the House of Representatives for its decision; and no electoral vote or
votes from
any State which shall have been regularly given by electors whose appointment
has been lawfully certified to according to section 6 of this title from
which but one
return has been received shall be rejected, but the two Houses concurrently
may
reject the vote or votes when they agree that such vote or votes have not
been so
regularly given by electors whose appointment has been so certified. If
more than
one return or paper purporting to be a return from a State shall have been
received by the President of the Senate, those votes, and those only, shall
be
counted which shall have been regularly given by the electors who are shown
by
the determination mentioned in section 5 of this title to have been appointed,
if the
determination in said section provided for shall have been made, or by
such
successors or substitutes, in case of a vacancy in the board of electors
so
ascertained, as have been appointed to fill such vacancy in the mode provided
by
the laws of the State; but in case there shall arise the question which
of two or
more of such State authorities determining what electors have been appointed,
as
mentioned in section 5 of this title, is the lawful tribunal of such State,
the votes
regularly given of those electors, and those only, of such State shall
be counted
whose title as electors the two Houses, acting separately, shall concurrently
decide is supported by the decision of such State so authorized by its
law; and in
such case of more than one return or paper purporting to be a return from
a State,
if there shall have been no such determination of the question in the State
aforesaid, then those votes, and those only, shall be counted which the
two
Houses shall concurrently decide were cast by lawful electors appointed
in
accordance with the laws of the State, unless the two Houses, acting separately,
shall concurrently decide such votes not to be the lawful votes of the
legally
appointed electors of such State. But if the two Houses shall disagree
in respect of
the counting of such votes, then, and in that case, the votes of the electors
whose
appointment shall have been certified by the executive of the State, under
the seal
thereof, shall be counted. When the two Houses have voted, they shall
immediately again meet, and the presiding officer shall then announce the
decision
of the questions submitted. No votes or papers from any other State shall
be
acted upon until the objections previously made to the votes or papers
from any
State shall have been finally disposed of.
Same; seats for officers and members of two houses in joint meeting
§ 16. At such joint meeting of the two Houses seats shall be provided
as follows:
For the President of the Senate, the Speaker's chair; for the Speaker,
immediately
upon his left; the Senators, in the body of the Hall upon the right of
the presiding
officer; for the Representatives, in the body of the Hall not provided
for the
Senators; for the tellers, Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House
of
Representatives, at the Clerk's desk; for the other officers of the two
Houses, in
front of the Clerk's desk and upon each side of the Speaker's platform.
Such joint
meeting shall not be dissolved until the count of electoral votes shall
be completed
and the result declared; and no recess shall be taken unless a question
shall have
arisen in regard to counting any such votes, or otherwise under this subchapter,
in
which case it shall be competent for either House, acting separately, in
the manner
hereinbefore provided, to direct a recess of such House not beyond the
next
calendar day, Sunday excepted, at the hour of 10 o'clock in the forenoon.
But if
the counting of the electoral votes and the declaration of the result shall
not have
been completed before the fifth calendar day next after such first meeting
of the
two Houses, no further or other recess shall be taken by either House.
Same; limit of debate in each house
§ 17. When the two Houses separate to decide upon an objection that
may have
been made to the counting of any electoral vote or votes from any State,
or other
question arising in the matter, each Senator and Representative may speak
to such
objection or question five minutes, and not more than once; but after such
debate
shall have lasted two hours it shall be the duty of the presiding officer
of each
House to put the main question without further debate.
Same; parliamentary procedure at joint meeting
§ 18. While the two Houses shall be in meeting as provided in this
chapter, the
President of the Senate shall have power to preserve order; and no debate
shall
be allowed and no question shall be put by the presiding officer except
to either
House on a motion to withdraw.
Vacancy in offices of both president and vice president; officers eligible to act
§ 19. (a) (1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office,
inability, or
failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to
discharge the
powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House
of
Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative
in
Congress, act as President.
(2) The same rule shall apply in the case of the death, resignation, removal
from
office, or inability of an individual acting as President under this subsection.
(b) If, at the time when under subsection (a) of this section a Speaker
is to begin
the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of President, there
is no
Speaker, or the Speaker fails to qualify as Acting President, then the
President
pro tempore of the Senate shall, upon his resignation as President pro
tempore
and as Senator, act as President.
(c) An individual acting as President under subsection (a) or subsection
(b) of this
section shall continue to act until the expiration of the then current
Presidential
term, except that
(1) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is founded
in whole or in
part on the failure of both the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect
to
qualify, then he shall act only until a President or Vice President qualifies;
and
(2) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is founded
in whole or in
part on the inability of the President or Vice President, then he shall
act only until
the removal of the disability of one of such individuals.
(d) (1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability,
or failure
to qualify, there is no President pro tempore to act as President under
subsection
(b) of this section, then the officer of the United States who is highest
on the
following list, and who is not under disability to discharge the powers
and duties of
the office of President shall act as President: Secretary of State, Secretary
of the
Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior,
Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary
of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(2) An individual acting as President under this subsection shall continue
so to do
until the expiration of the then current Presidential term, but not after
a qualified
and prior-entitled individual is able to act, except that the removal of
the disability
of an individual higher on the list contained in paragraph (1) of this
subsection or
the ability to qualify on the part of an individual higher on such list
shall not
terminate his service.
(3) The taking of the oath of office by an individual specified in the
list in
paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be held to constitute his resignation
from the
office by virtue of the holding of which he qualifies to act as President.
(e) Subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section shall apply only to such
officers as
are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution. Subsection
(d) of this
section shall apply only to officers appointed, by and with the advice
and consent
of the Senate, prior to the time of the death, resignation, removal from
office,
inability, or failure to qualify, of the President pro tempore, and only
to officers not
under impeachment by the House of Representatives at the time the powers
and
duties of the office of President devolve upon them.
(f) During the period that any individual acts as President under this
section, his
compensation shall be at the rate then provided by law in the case of the
President.
Resignation or refusal of office
§ 20. The only evidence of a refusal to accept, or of a resignation
of the office of
President or Vice President, shall be an instrument in writing, declaring
the same,
and subscribed by the person refusing to accept or resigning, as the case
may be,
and delivered into the office of the Secretary of State.
Definitions
§ 21. As used in this chapter the term -
(a) "State" includes the District of Columbia.
(b) "executives of each State" includes the Board of Commissioners * of
the
District of Columbia.
* The functions of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia
are
now performed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia. (Reorganization
Plan
No. 3 of 1967, Section 401, 81 Stat. 948: Pub. L. 93-198, Sections 422
and
711, 87 Stat. 790, 818.)