certificates, and the votes shall
then be counted. The person then having the greatest number of
votes shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who
have such a 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 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._

According to this clause, we note that the electors voted for two
persons without stating which was to be President and which
Vice-President. In the official count, the candidate receiving the
highest number of votes, provided it was a majority of the whole
number of the electoral votes, became President, and the one
receiving the next highest became Vice-President.

Election of 1796.--In the election of 1796, John Adams, who
received the highest number, seventy-one, out of one hundred and
thirty-two electoral votes, was elected President. Thomas
Jefferson, his opponent, became Vice-President, having received
sixty-eight votes, or the next highest number. Thus there were
elected a President of one party and a Vice-President of the
opposing party.

Election of 1800.--The election of 1800 also showed the plan
to be impracticable. At this time, the Democratic-Republican party
was determined to have Mr. Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr
for Vice-President. They both received seventy-three votes, a
majority of all the votes. But since the number was equal, it
devolved upon the House of Representatives to determine whether
Jefferson or Burr should be President. For seven days the House was
in co