Summary#
S.J. Res. 218 is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution, not a law currently in force. It would replace the Electoral College method with direct election of the President and Vice President by voters; its stated goal is to abolish the Electoral College. It would take effect one year after January 1 following ratification.
- Each voter would cast one vote for a pair of candidates who agreed to run together for President and Vice President.
- The pair with the greatest number of votes would win. The text does not require the winning pair to receive more than half of the votes.
- Congress may pass laws to address a tie or a candidate’s death or other disqualification before the President-elect or Vice President-elect has been chosen.
- The amendment would become part of the Constitution only if two-thirds of each chamber of Congress approved it and the legislatures of three-fourths of the states ratified it.
What it means for you#
- Voters: If ratified and in effect, you would vote directly for a presidential and vice-presidential candidate pair. The text says voters in the states and the District of Columbia would vote.
- Congress: Congress could make laws for ties and certain candidate deaths or disqualifications. The amendment does not require Congress to do so.
- State legislatures: At least three-fourths would have to ratify the amendment for it to take effect. The resolution does not require any particular legislature to ratify it.
- Everyone: Nothing changes now. The resolution has been introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee; it has not become law.
Money#
No cost information is in the available material.
- The resolution provides no spending amount, funding source, or cost estimate. It also does not specify administrative or election costs.
What is unclear#
- The supplied material does not include the current constitutional provisions, so this summary cannot verify all parts of the existing election process that the amendment would replace.
- The text does not set out rules for vote counting, recounts, or election disputes.
- Congress may address ties and certain candidate disqualifications, but the text does not require a law or provide the details.
- The resolution does not explain how the new method would be administered or what costs it might involve.
- Passage is uncertain: the proposal needs two-thirds approval in both chambers and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.
Case for#
- A possible argument for the amendment is that voters, rather than an Electoral College process, would choose the President and Vice President directly.
- A single vote for a candidate pair and a rule that the pair with the most votes wins could make the selection rule straightforward.
- The amendment would let Congress address ties and certain candidate disqualifications through later laws.
Case against#
- The pair with the most votes could win without receiving a majority. The text does not provide for a runoff or another way to resolve that outcome.
- Congress may make rules for ties and certain candidate disqualifications, but is not required to. The amendment itself does not say how those cases would be handled.
- The text leaves important election procedures and their costs unspecified.