The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution outlines the procedure for electing the President and Vice President. It was proposed by the 8th Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the legislatures of the following states: North Carolina, Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The amendment was rejected by Delaware and Connecticut, but Massachusetts ratified it in 1961. The key provisions of the Twelfth Amendment include:

• Distinct Vote: The amendment mandates that a distinct vote must be taken for the president and the vice president. Further, one of the selected candidates must be someone who is not from the same state as the elector.

• Majority Vote: The amendment requires a person to receive a majority of the electoral votes for vice president for that person to be elected vice president by the Electoral College. If no candidate for vice president has a majority vote, the Senate chooses the vice president.

• Elimination of Ties: The amendment was adopted to make impossible the situation that occurred after the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received tie votes in the electoral college, thus throwing the selection of a President into the House of Representatives.

The Twelfth Amendment has been effective in eliminating most ties and deadlocks in presidential elections since its ratification.