Commentary On Elections-Part Ten

According to the 12th Amendment of the US Constitution, the electors of each state "shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify".

The definition of distinct is "recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type". Therefore distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President is different than the ballots for the person voted for as President. This clearly indicates that the President and Vice-President should never be placed on the same ticket and should never together contest the same election as running mates.

The reason for this are simple. When the winning Presidential candidate also handpicks the Vice-President, who is the President Of The Senate, this confers too much centralization of power to the Presidency.

Cliff Notes Version: According to the U.S. Constitution, the electors are supposed to pick the state's choice for President separately from picking the state's choice for President. Currently the Presidential candidate picks the Vice-Presidential candidates.

When the winning Presidential candidate also handpicks the Vice-President, the Presidency becomes too powerful.