The Presidency

Qualifications for Presidential Office President must be: Natural Born Citizen 35 years old 14 years a U.S. Resident Terms of Office (22nd Amendment) 1951 4 year terms, max 2 terms If VP becomes President due to death of President, 10 years max If VP serves as President more than 2 years only gets one more term If VP serves as acting President less than 2 years, gets 2 more terms

Presidential Impeachment Congress has the authority to impeach and remove a president from office House of Reps vote by simple majority (218) to authorize an investigation House Judiciary Committee decides through hearings if the president should be tried for stated offenses and submits finding to full house Full House votes by simple majority to indict the president on one or more charges (Impeach President) President cannot resign after he has been impeach

Presidential Removal Senate Holds a trial on the charges Chief Justice of the Supreme Court would preside over the trial 2/3 majority would convict, causing the president’s removal Nixon (Resigned before House voted on Impeachment charges) A. Johnson/Clinton were impeached in the House but both fell short of 2/3 vote in Senate for removal.

Role of President Enforces federal laws and federal court decisions Chief Executive Enforces federal laws and federal court decisions Commander in Chief Head of State Chief Diplomat Receive ambassadors and other representatives from foreign countries Recognize the existence of another country’s government Chief legislature Can Veto legislation Political Party Leader Choose VP

Constitutional Power Article II of the Constitution Commander in Chief of Armed Forces To appoint, with the Senate’s consent/approval Who can the President appoint? Grant Pardons and Clemencies Except in cases of impeachment To make Treaties, advice & consent of Senate by 2/3 vote Executive Agreements (international agreement does not require senate approval)

Constitutional Powers To make Treaties, advice & consent of Senate by 2/3 vote Executive Agreements (international agreement does not require senate approval) Fill vacancies when Congress in recess Expire when new Congress meets Convene Congress in Extraordinary occasions Annual State of the Union Address

Constitutional Powers Chief Diplomat Receive ambassadors and other representatives from foreign countries Recognize the existence of another country’s government Ensure that laws passed by Congress “be faithfully executed”

President’s Veto Power Veto- refuse to sign-kills bill sent back to Congress with reasons for veto Congress can override the veto with 2/3 vote of both Houses- bill becomes Law Difficult for Congress to Override If president does not sign or veto within 10 days except Sundays, and Congress in session Bill becomes law Pocket Veto If Congress not in session bill dies if president takes no action (does not respond) Line-Item Veto-1998 Supreme Court declared Unconstitutional

Presidential Succession Presidential Succession Act of 1947 Set up of who should take over should the President not be able to perform duties due to disability, death, resignation Vice President Speaker of House President Pro Tempore of the Senate Presidential Cabinet secretaries in order of creation: Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense,..

Vice President Requires simple majority in both houses for approval 25th Amendment, 1967 VP shall become President if Present is removed, dies, or resigns Allows the President to appoint a new VP if becomes vacant Requires simple majority in both houses for approval If president unable to perform duties, he must inform Congress in writing, VP serves as acting president until president can resume duties When the president is unable to communicate, majority of the cabinet and VP can declare that to Congress, VP is acting president until president resumes duties. 2/3 vote of congress is required to decide whether the VP shall remain acting president or whether president shall resume duties.

Military Powers Congress has power to declare war Commander in Chief of Military of U.S. Congressional Check on President Congress has power to declare war War Powers Resolution of 1973 Limits presidential authority to introduce troops into hostile foreign land without congressional approval President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deployment of troops outside the U.S. Hostilities must end in 60 days unless congress extends troops to 30 more days for president to withdrawal troops from hostile territories or ask congress to declare war.

Factors in Presidential Leadership The Stage of the President’s Term Honeymoon Period Rally around the President (War or Crisis) President focus internationally if not doing well domestically

Factors in Presidential Leadership Relations with Congress Seeking cooperation with Congress Benefiting from Partisan Support in Congress Colliding with Congress Divided Government Public Support Presidential Approval Ratings (public Opinion) The Televised Presidency “Going Public” Lame Duck

Electoral College Indirect system for choosing president The Group of electors who are chosen in each state to officially elect the President and VP US Constitution Article II, Section 1 Electors for each state Electoral votes for each state based on the number of senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives in the House (at least 1) determined by census every 10 years Electors cannot be (senators or House of Representatives) members of Congress www.270towin.com

Size of Electoral College Total number of electoral votes set at 538 100 Senators 435 House of Representatives 3 District of Columbia (Washington DC) 23rd Amendment (1961) D.C. receives the minimum electoral votes a state could have.

Electoral College Amendment Twelfth Amendment (1804) Electors must cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice-President, instead of two votes for President. President and Vice-President must be from 2 different states. Prevents electors from voting only for “favorite sons” of their own state.

Why vote if Presidency is not won by popular vote? Think of the Electoral College as 51 separate elections. One election for each state and Washington D.C. Voters in each state help their state’s electors choose which candidate gets the electoral votes from that state

Winner Take All System In 48 states and Washington D.C., Which ever candidates gets the most popular votes wins the electoral votes from that state. Example CA (55 Electoral Votes as of 2010) If 50.1% CA voters in November 2016 vote democrat, then 55 CA democratic slate of electors each will have one vote to give to democratic candidate running for President in December 2016.

Split Allocation of Electoral Votes Maine and Nebraska Split their electoral votes based on both statewide popular vote and each district’s popular vote. Example Maine has 4 electoral votes 2 votes are determined based on statewide election Candidate that wins the statewide election will get 2 votes 2 remaining votes are determined by congressional districts votes Winner of each Congressional district in those states receiving one electoral vote.

Swing States Swing States (Purple States) States that do not consistently vote democrat or republican every 4 years As we saw in the 2000 presidential election, Florida, the largest swing state, determined the outcome of the election.