U.S. Constitution – Article 2 Section 1
Article 2 – The Executive Branch
Section 1 – The President
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The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of
America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together
with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no
Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit
under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
(The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and
vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an
Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all
the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of
the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person
having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a
Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than
one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House
of Representatives shall immediately chuse by
Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from
the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by
States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a
Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the
States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the
President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall
be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal
Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot
the Vice-President.) (This clause in parentheses was superseded by the
12th Amendment.)
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing
the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall
be the same throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States,
at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the
Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen
Years a Resident within the United States.
(In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of
his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the
said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may
by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both
of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as
President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be
removed, or a President shall be elected.) (This clause in parentheses
has been modified by the 20th and 25th Amendments.)
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within
that Period any other Emolument
from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following
Oath or Affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office
of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Notes for this section:
Separation of Powers
Note
The Electoral College
12th Amendment
20th Amendment
25th Amendment
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Last Modified: 24 Jan 2010