What Should Happen When Presidential Electors Fail To Provide Majority Support

 

If the Presidential electors fail to muster the majority support needed to choose the President, the Top Three elector vote getting POTUS candidates are then subject to selection by the members of the House of Representatives.These federal legislative lower house members are grouped in the state that their district is in. Each state casts its one electoral vote based on the decision collectively taken by its federal legislative lower house members. The POTUS candidate who wins the majority of states' electoral votes serves as POTUS in the next term. If no POTUS can garner this necessary majority of electoral votes, then the most recently chosen VPOTUS becomes the Acting POTUS to serve the entire next term as such.  

If  the Vice-Presidential electors fail to muster the majority support needed to choose the Vice-President, the Top Two electors' vote recipients are then subject to selection by the U.S. Senate. Out of these Top Two VPOTUS candidates, the candidate who receives the majority of votes from U.S. Senators wins the VPOTUS race. 

Another purpose of this post is to explain why the Top Three Presidential candidates are subject to selection, if the electors fail to elect the POTUS. This post also explains why only the Top Two VP candidates are subject to selection if the electors fail to elect the VPOTUS. 

The President needs a mandate considering the considerable authority given to that office. That is why the winner of the Presidential race must get a majority of states, that the House Representatives cast ballots on behalf of, to choose the POTUS out of the three candidates. The framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted the winner of the Presidential race to win more states than the other two candidates combined in case the electors were unsuccessful in their choosing.

They wanted the President to win convincingly because of the authority that office wields. Because the Vice-President does not have nearly as much authority as the President, these framers limited the selection of the Vice-President by a federal legislative body to the Top Two elector vote getting candidates only.  

Cliff Notes Version: There is a reason why the POTUS candidate, out of the Top Three Presidential candidates, must win the majority of states in which the federal legislative house members are grouped. If the electors fail to choose the President, the elected President must win a relative mandate before he is awarded Presidential authority. The President, as head of the federal executive branch and as America's representative to other nations and foreign entities, is given much authority. 

The Vice-President, on the other hand, has far less authority. Therefore a candidate just needs more members of  a certain legislative body to cast votes for him or her than the other Vice-Presidential candidate. That certain legislative body chooses the winner out of the Top Two electoral vote recipients for that position.

The Selection Of The President Pro Tempore of the US Senate

Non-members can apply to the US Senate if they are interested in those positions as President Pro Tempore and other officers provided that candidate has not been a participant in any branch of government at any level for two years. They also have to meet other Constitutional Requirements. 

Any candidate worthy of a vote by the U.S. Senate has to first receive at least 25% of Yay votes in the roll-call. The vote-worthy eligible candidates contest for each office. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes cast by the members of the U.S. Senate either becomes or remains the officers of the U.S. Senate.

These U.S. Senate officers should not have the authority to cast votes on proposed legislation. This is important as these officers should not be compromised in their responsibilities. Because these officers engage in the presentation of proposed legislation, they should not have the authority to cast votes on proposed legislation. These officers should not have a stake on the outcome of a legislative matter.

These U.S. Senate Officers should be chosen in full only when the President Of The Senate (Vice-President Of The United States)  vacates office.When a U.S. Senate Officer vacates his/her office, another should be chosen as a replacement to serve till the VPOTUS vacates his/her office or if that officer is unable to serve prior to the departure of the VPOTUS. Upon the vacating of the VPOTUS prior to the completion of scheduled term, the President pro tempore of the Senate then should become the Acting Vice-President (Acting President of the US Senate) for the remainder of that term. 

Cliff Notes Version: Non-members of the US Senate should be chosen as officers of that legislative body. The President Pro Tempore of the US Senate can become Acting VPOTUS if the VOPTUS cannot complete scheduled term.

U.S. Senate officers, chosen by the Senate, are only chosen in full when a VPOTUS leaves office or individually if an U.S. Senate Officer cannot complete his/her scheduled term prior to the vacating of VPOTUS office. 

The Senate is much more powerful and federal now than it was when the US Constitution was written. This is another reason why non-members should be chosen as officers, mainly the President pro tempore.

The Selection Of The Speaker Of The House Of Representatives

 

The Selection Of The Speaker Of The House Of Representatives-

[U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 2, Clause 5

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers.]

The U.S. Constitution does not require or ban House of Representatives members from serving as officers. It would make the most sense to allow only non-members to serve as their Speaker and as other officers so that no member has more authority than another member. Non-members can apply to the House if they are interested in those positions as officers provided that candidate is not a participant in any branch of government. They also should meet other Constitutional Requirements. 

Any officer candidate worthy of a vote by the House should first receive at least 25% of Yay votes in the roll-call. The vote-worthy eligible candidates should then contest for each office. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes cast by the members of the House either becomes or remains the officer.  

The officers, mainly the Speaker, should not have the authority to cast votes. This is important so these officers, mainly the Speaker, should not be compromised in their responsibilities. In order to avoid such, they should not have a direct stake in the legislative process. 

The Speaker and other officers should be full-time positions. The Speaker of the House Of Representatives should have the same role and responsibilities as the Vice-President (President Of The U.S. Senate). The job of the Speaker is to manage and organize that legislative body by scheduling speeches (i.e. filibusters), seminars, debates, and voting sessions. 

Cliff Notes Version: Non-members of the House of Representatives should be chosen as officers of that legislative body. These officers, chosen by the House members, are full-time positions. 

The House of Representatives is much more powerful and federal now than it was when the American Constitution was written. This is another reason why non-members should be chosen as officers, mainly the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

America has been a federal government-driven "Top-Down" society for 156 years- (A Harsha Sankar Letter)

 

The U.S Constitution is hardly followed. While certain minor revisions need to be implemented  because governance now is different than it was when it was written. Since the birth of the nation till the onset of the American Civil War, America had "State-driven governance." The individual States were the controlling authority in providing governance. The only obligation they had to federal government was its obedience to the American Constitution, mainly the Bill Of Rights. The signers of the American Constitution wrote that document with the intent of having that type of governance.

Because America's model of governance fundamentally changed after the American Civil War, certain changes in that document are needed to reflect that. These needed alterations have to reflect the fact that the federal government since 1865 has been, is currently, and will be the sovereign government authority.

America has been a federal government-driven "Top-Down" society for 156 years. Whether or not it is an improvement over the original governance is an individual's interpretation. It is neither more nor less moral or principled. Rather it is just another form of the Republic that the People have apparently  accepted since that change in governance was made.   

Cliff Notes Version: Before the highly "bloody" American Civil War, America was similar to what the European Union is now.

Each state was a member-state in American nation. Each state has sovereignty over domestic matters as the federal government only concerned itself with international matters, such as tariffs. 

That changed after the onset of the "War Between The States". The federal government then became the sovereign government authority. They then had the authority to pass legislation on domestic matters. Their laws were allowed to supersede state laws. 

America became a different Republic. The US Constitution should be changed to reflect that America's governance became federally-centric since the 1860s.

The Selection Of The President Pro Tempore of the US Senate- Part Two (By Harsha Sankar)

 

The Selection Of The President Pro Tempore of the US Senate- Part Two

The passage of the U.S. Constitution regarding this position: 

[Article I, Section 3, Clause 5

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.] 

It is entirely possible the framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted the Senate to choose non-members of the Senate to serve as its officers and as President pro tempore. After all, the President of the Senate is not a member of the U.S. Senate. He is in fact the Vice-President of the United States. 

They knew that the U.S. Senate could not choose its own members to serve in these capacities. They believed this to be a blatant conflict of interest as that measure would give certain senators more authority than other senators would have. This obviously would erode Representative governance. 

Cliff Notes Version: Since the 17th Amendment allowed Senators to be elected by the People, the federal upper house became much more federal, much more political, and much more powerful.

Therefore, it is imperative that non-members of the Senate should be chosen by the Senate to be officers. Conflicts of interests need to be lessened.

The Selection Of The President Pro Tempore of the US Senate- Part One (By Harsha Sankar)

 

The Selection Of The President Pro Tempore of the US Senate- Part One

The passage of the U.S. Constitution regarding this position: 

[Article I, Section 3, Clause 5

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.] 

The US Constitution is clear and for good reason. The Senate can only choose their officers,including the President Pro Tempore, to serve only when the Vice-President is absent. Currently the U.S. Senate is choosing their officers on a permanent basis. This practice is not acceptable because it makes the U.S. Senate hierarchical and non-representative. For the Representative Republic Ideal to work, all senators must have equal amount of authority. It should be one Senator, one vote. All senators must have the same amount of input on all matters. 

The US Constitution bans committees because they segregate legislators into different groups. Moreover, committees are hierarchical in nature as they are led by chairpersons and ranking members. 

Cliff Notes Version: If Senate members are chosen as officers, the Senate becomes hierarchical and non-representative. It is important non-members be chosen as officers of that legislative body.

While the House Of Representatives became more political, more federal, and more powerful to a minor extent since the aftermath of the American Civil War, the US Senate was fundamentally transformed. Instead of working under the consent and auspices of the state legislature, the US Senate became an autonomous federal legislative body answerable to the People only.

In lieu of the fact that so much has changed in scope, nature, and magnitude, it is imperative that their officers, mainly the President Pro Tempore, temporarily serve only when the Vice-President is absent. The U.S. Senate should not have officers serve when the VP (duly elected or acting) is normally serving. The US Constitution states that these officers, while chosen in the absence of the VPOTUS, continues to serve even after that VPOTUS vacancy is filled. The US Constitution needs to be rewritten to ensure that these officers serve only when the VPOTUS, as President Of The US Senate, is absent.