How were the Vice president and President chosen before the constitution?

Answer 1

There was no popular vote in the election of 1789. Instead, the electoral college chose from a group of candidates. Each college member cast two votes with the candidate receiving the most votes becoming president and the runner-up becoming vice-president. George Washington was elected unanimously receiving all sixty-nine electoral votes. John Adams came in second and became the first Vice-President.

Answer 2

Electoral votes in the Electoral College determine the President and Vice President of the United States. Every state and the District of Columbia are awarded a certain number of electoral votes with which to elect the President. Each state has electoral votes equal to the total of the 2 representative the state has in the U.S. Senate plus the number of representative the state has in the House of Representatives. The electors in each state are elected in the presidential election and swear in advance to vote for the presidential candidate who wins the election in their state. Electors meet in their respective state capitals (electors for the District of Columbia meet within the District) on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December, at which time they cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for president and vice-president. Each state then forwards the election results to the President of the U.S. Senate, the Archivist of the United States, the state's Secretary of State, and the chief judge of the United States district court where those electors met. A joint session of Congress takes place on January 6 in the calendar year immediately following the meetings of the presidential electors. The electoral votes are officially tabulated at the joint session of Congress and the winner of the election is officially declared.

Answer 3

Electoral votes in the U.S. Electoral College determine the President and Vice President of the United States. Every state and the District of Columbia are awarded a certain number of electoral votes with which to elect the President. Each state has electoral votes equal to the total of the 2 representative the state has in the U.S. Senate plus the number of representative the state has in the House of Representatives. Since every state has two senators and at least one representative to the House, every state has at least 3 electoral votes. The District of Columbia gets 3 electoral votes. Therefore, the total number of electoral votes is 538 - 100 (senators) + 435 (representatives) + 3 (for DC). A majority is 270 - one more than half of the total number of 538.

The political parties in each state choose slates of potential Electors sometime before the general election. The electoral college Electors in most states are selected by state party conventions or by the state party's central committee. In a few states the Electors are selected by primary election or by the party's presidential nominee. Political parties often choose Electors that are state elected officials, state party leaders, or people in the state who have a personal or political affiliation with their party's Presidential candidate.

On Election Day, the voters in each state select their state's Electors by casting their ballots for President. In most states, the names of individual Electors do not appear anywhere on the ballot; instead only those of the various candidates for President and Vice President appear, usually prefaced by the words "Electors for." The Electors are expected to vote for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the party that nominated them.

The entire Electoral College does not meet together in one place. Electors meet in their respective state capitals (electors for the District of Columbia meet within the District) on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December, at which time they cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for president and vice-president. Each state then forwards the election results to the President of the U.S. Senate, the Archivist of the United States, the state's Secretary of State, and the chief judge of the United States district court where those electors met. A joint session of Congress takes place on January 6 in the calendar year immediately following the meetings of the presidential electors. Senate pages bring in the boxes containing each state's certified vote and place them on tables in front of the Senators and Representatives. Each house appoints two tellers to count the vote (normally one member of each political party). Relevant portions of the Certificate of Vote are read for each state, in alphabetical order. The electoral votes are officially tabulated at the joint session of Congress and the winner of the election is officially declared. The sitting vice-president is expected to preside at the joint session.

Answer 4

The office of the U. S. President and the U. S. electoral system were introduced at the same time, when the U. S. Constitution was ratified in 1788. The rules have been changed from time to time, but even in 1789, each state appointed electors, and those electors elected the president, with the runner-up becoming vice president.

Answer 5

They weren't. There was no Vice President under the Articles of Confederation, and while there was technically an executive, the role was nothing like what we would call a President today.

Answer 6

The first president of the US was elected according to procedure given in the newly ratified Constitution -- pretty much the same procedure that has been used to chose all presidents since.

Answer 7

George Washington