Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his office during
the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen
for the same term, be elected, as follows:
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number
of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled
in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or
person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States,
shall be appointed an elector.
The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes
for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed
to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in
the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The
person having the greatest number of votes shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors
appointed; and if there be more than one who have
such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of
Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of
them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the
five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner
choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall
be taken by States, the representation from each state
having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member
or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority
of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after
the choice of the President, the person having the greatest
number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if
there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the
day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall
be the same throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United
States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible
to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty
five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.
In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of
the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and
the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal,
death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice President,
declaring what officer shall then act as President, and
such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed,
or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation,
which shall neither be increased nor diminished
during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall
not receive within that period any other emolument from the
United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following
oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United
States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the
several states, when called into the actual service of the United States;
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal
officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating
to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have
power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United
States, except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all
other officers of the United States, whose appointments are
not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by
law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of
such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone,
in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions
which shall expire at the end of their next session.
Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
of the state of the union, and recommend to their
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both
Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them,
with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn
them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors
and other public ministers; he shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers
of the United States.
Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.