The American Constitution and the Process of Electing the President - Essay Example

The American constitution and the process of electing the president The United s attained the supreme constitution in the late 18th century and since then; the leaders over the times amend it to ensure relevance to the situations of their current times. The most affected article of the constitution is the second article that stipulates on the electoral process of the president of the 52 states under the federal government. In accordance to the constitution, the president is a member of the executive branch, but is the supreme head of the federal government. The constitution stipulates on the process of electing the president of the US, and the key factors necessary to establish the contestant who is eligible for the office. As outlined below, the script establishes the elections process and the various amendments to the constitution that America’s presidential elections (The Constitution 36). America is a federal state comprising of 52 states with the mandate to elect the president. However, the presidential candidate should win the party ticket of one the two parties, namely, the Democrat and the Republican, with all other state parties being affiliates to these two major parties. The first constitution implemented on stringent measures on who was to vie for the presidency (The Constitution 46). For example, stipulations were that for one to eligible to the position, citizenship would be a determining factor. The need was that he would declare his citizenship by birth and lived in the US for at least 14 years prior to bid for the presidency. The constitution further stipulated on the age restriction of 35 years implying that no aspirant would crave for presidency whilst below the maximum age (The Constitution 55). As a tradition, the United States holds presidential elections at a four-year interval thus 2012 becoming the current presidential elections year. The controversy of the American constitution takes bid upon who actually elects the president (Brady 40). The democratic nation poses a dilemma to the citizens on the decision to establish the actual president of the United States of America after balloting. As per the constitution, voters turn out to their respective polling stations to casts votes on the desired presidential candidate from either the democrats or the republicans with each choice of balloting dictating on the next president and vice-president of the America. However, after voting, the Electoral College casts the determinant votes which are the most critical as they tend to shelf those of the citizens (Brady 43). Initially, the constitution implied on a different protocol of appointing the president until the 19th century, when the constitutional amendments resolved the controversy over the second article of the American constitution towards the power of the voter and the electors. The constitution implemented that voters would elect their electors who would simultaneously elect the president through the majority college votes (The Constitution 45). In accordance to the constitution, the electors should be neutral, holding no significant office in the federal government as this would imply on the probability of democracy. Further, different states elect different numbers of electors to coincide with the eligible number of representatives and senators outlined by the congress in relevance to the individual state population. The first constitution stipulated that the president would come from the majority count of the people; however, controversies arose on what would be the course of action whenever the voters could not elect a candidate with a majority count (The Constitution 49). Therefore, amendments presided to the current second article of the constitution that vests power over the electors to choose the president and [if they happen to fail, the constitution expressly allows the House of Representatives to cast votes. Amendments to the constitution and the presidential election process The congress dictates on the election date upon which they stipulate on a similar date throughout the federal republic of America. The current election process abides to the criteria of the amended constitution, which implies that electors shall abide to a set of stipulations that dictate the process by which they cast their votes. The constitution implicates that individual state electors shall vote at a coinciding duration with those in the other states. It outlines that they shall have individual rights to ballot and choose the presidential candidate and similarly the vice-president with whom they should be in the same ballot paper (Brady 68). The restriction is that the president and the vice-president of the United States must belong to the same party thus their names should be in the same ballot of choice. However, controversies arise towards the choice as the constitution restricts choosing both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates from a similar state. After the casting, the electors draw conclusions on their choice of presidential aspirant and the vice-president (Brady 70). Documentation and sealing of the results prevails and the overall results from the 52 states are presented to the president of the senate (The Constitution 67). The house of senate and representatives preserves the mandate to official tallying of the overall electors’ votes from the states after the presentation in the house by the president of the senate. After the tallying of the electors’ votes, the senate shall establish the winner deserving to the incumbent president in the following year. The constitutional amendments further establish on mandate vested upon the senate to cast votes in case the electors’ votes coincide with no individual candidate getting the majority count of votes. The senate ballots to decide on the candidate to become the president although the constraint is that each state denotes a single vote (Brady 70). Therefore, the tally of the senate turns to be the determinant factor of which candidate to take presidency. The constitution also mandates the senate to establish rulings on the due course of action under circumstances that hold the president unconstitutional and in case of death. However, the vice-president expressly deserves the position but amendments remain the determining factors (The Constitution 74). Subsequently, the senate balloting process shall prevail in case the elector’s tend to neutral, for instance, if there lacks a majority vote for any of the aspiring vice-president, a two third senate vote shall implicate on the person to become the vice-president of the United states of America (Brady 78). Conclusions The process of electing the president of the United States of America, although perfected by constitution, stirs the issue of democracy and the vote of the citizens (Brady 140). The fact that the constitution articulates mandate of the decision making to the electors, fails to uphold the will of the US citizens as to whether their choice of candidate shall become the president remains upon the electors’ vote. Amendments to the American may not remain taming with little relevance to the will of the majority citizens (The Constitution 136). Despite the lengthy campaigning periods, the voter perceives the necessity to choose the preferable candidate, but then the constitution constrains the outcome of the result. Current amendments to the constitution remain inconsistent and relevant to the founding constitution when comparing the presidential voting process. Work cited Brady, Robert A. The Constitution of the United States of America As Amended: Unratified Amendments, Analytical Index. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 2007. Print. The Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation. Radford, VA: Wilder Publications, 2008. Print. Read More