Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Six By Harsha Sankar

Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Six

Since the US Constitution shifted sovereignty from the states to the federal government, the positions of President and Vice-President gained unprecedented authority. The Founding Fathers did not intend both these positions to be as powerful as the 14th Amendment made it to be. However, the Lincolnites who won the Civil War had other ideas. They wanted a strong central government as nationalism was sweeping across the Western World. 

Correctly or incorrectly,America has become a "Top-Down Society". Due to this, the President and Vice-President should not run on the same ticket. They should be selected by a different set of electors and their electors should be chosen in a different manner. Otherwise, too much centralization of authority will be placed on one ticket if the President and Vice-President run together.

A different set of electors should choose the Vice-President. Moreover, the Vice-Presidential electors should be chosen in a different manner as the Vice-Presidential position is quite different than the Presidential position. The Vice-President,unlike the President, is supposed to be much more involved in lawmaking than in administration. According to the U.S. Constitution, the role of the Vice-President is not supposed to be just ceremonial.  

The 12th Amendment should be changed to reflect this preceding as the 14th Amendment has changed the nation in 1868. Since the center of government authority was shifted to the federal government in Washington D.C., the 12th Amendment needs to be altered so that there is Separation Of Powers between the President and Vice-President. Checks and Balances are needed between those two officeholders so it is imperative that certain divisions are made. 

If the simple majority of Vice-Presidential electors are unable to choose the winner of the Vice-President race, then the simple majority of members of the House of Representatives chooses the Vice-President. Since the Vice-Presidential position is based on the Population Based Democratic Model, the federal lower house must choose the winning candidate if the electors are unable to do so. 

Cliff Notes Version: Since sovereignty was transferred from the state governments to the federal governments, different electors are now needed for President and Vice-President. The Presidential electors should also be chosen in a different manner than the Vice-Presidential electors.

If the electors cannot choose the Vice-President, the majority of the members of the House of Representatives must then be given the task to do just that since the Vice-Presidential position, just like the federal lower house, is based on the Population Based Democratic Model.