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The vice president-elect of the United States is the candidate who has won election to the office of vice president of the United States in a United States presidential election, but is awaiting inauguration to assume the office.

There is no explicit indication in the U.S. Constitution as to when that person actually becomes vice president-elect, although the Twentieth Amendment uses the term "Vice President-elect", thus giving the term constitutional justification.

The term corresponds to the term "president-elect of the United States", used for those elected president of the United States for the same period between their election and inauguration.

Incumbent vice presidents who have won re-election for a second term are generally not referred to as vice presidents-elect, as they are already in office and are not waiting to become vice president.

Elections of vice presidents-elect

In many, but not all, instances in which a new vice president has been elected, there is also a change of presidents, with a new president having been elected. This has not always been the case, however. There have been instances in which an incumbent president is reelected with a new vice president-elect as their running mate. This has often been due to an incumbent vice president having not received renomination. The most recent time this happened was in 1944, when Harry S. Truman was elected to replace Henry A. Wallace alongside the ailing three-term president Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, in other instances, this has been due to the vice presidency having been vacant, as there was no way to fill a vice presidential vacancy mid-term until the ratification of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The most recent time that a new vice president was elected alongside an incumbent president was in 1964, when Hubert Humphrey was elected alongside Lyndon B. Johnson, with the vice presidency being vacant due to Johnson's ascension after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ever since, all elections of new vice presidents have come alongside an election of a new president. No incumbent president has sought re-election or election to a full-term with a running mate different than their incumbent vice president since Gerald Ford did so unsuccessfully in 1976.

It is possible for an incumbent vice president to win reelection as the running mate of a new president-elect, in which case there would be a United States presidential transition with the election of a new president-elect, but there would be no vice president-elect. This first happened in 1808 when Vice President George Clinton, who was originally elected with Thomas Jefferson, was reelected as vice president with James Madison becoming president-elect. This happened again in 1828, when Vice President John C. Calhoun, who was elected vice president in 1824 with John Quincy Adams, was re-elected as vice president with Andrew Jackson becoming president-elect.

Roles in presidential transitions

Vice President-elect Lyndon B. Johnson with President-elect John F. Kennedy during the 1960–61 presidential transition of John F. Kennedy

As previously mentioned many vice presidents-elect, and all from 1968 onwards, have been elected alongside a new president-elect, meaning that the period before many vice-presidents elects have entered office as vice president have entailed presidential transitions.

Similar to the president-elect, the General Services Administration is authorized by the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to provide the vice president-elect with funding, office space, and various government services (such as transportation and communications) to accommodate their role in the transition between presidential administrations.[1]

The role that various vice presidents-elect have played in United States presidential transitions has differed.

Two vice presidents-elect have been in charge of presidential transitions as formal chairmen, Dick Cheney in the presidential transition of George W. Bush (2000–01)[2] and Mike Pence in the presidential transition of Donald Trump (2016–17).[3]

Bill Clinton heavily involved Vice President-elect Al Gore in his 1992–93 transition, including him in a group of confidants that joined Clinton in making many of the transition's top decisions.[4] Jimmy Carter allowed Vice President-elect Walter Mondale to play a role in his 1976–77 transition, including allowing him to provide input on some individuals being considered for roles in the administration.[5]

Some presidents-elect have excluded their vice presidents-elect from playing a significant role in their transition. For instance, in Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952–53 transition, Vice President-elect Richard Nixon did not play an active role.[6] During Nixon's own the 1968–69 transition, Vice President-elect Spiro Agnew was similarly largely uninvolved.[7]

Procedure for replacement

If the vice president-elect dies or resigns before the meeting of the Electoral College in December, the national committee of the winning party would, in consultation with the president-elect, choose a replacement to receive the electoral votes of the vice presidential nominee in the same manner as would happen if the former vice presidential nominee had become president-elect due to the death of the apparent winner. Assuming the requisite number the electors agreed to vote for the replacement candidate, that person would then become the vice president-elect. If such a vacancy were to occur after the electoral votes had been cast in the states, most authorities maintain that no replacement would be chosen and the new president (after taking office) would nominate a vice president, per the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[8]

Vice President-designate of the United States

Before ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967, the Constitution contained no provision for filling an intra-term vacancy in the vice presidency. As a result, when one occurred (and did 16 times), the office was left vacant until filled through the next ensuing election and inauguration. Since 1967, the vice presidency has been vacant twice, and a successor was nominated each time to fill the vacancy in accordance with the 25th Amendment. The first instance was in 1973 when Gerald Ford was nominated by President Richard Nixon to succeed Spiro Agnew, who had resigned. The second came in 1974, when Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency following Nixon's resignation, nominated Nelson Rockefeller to succeed him.[9][10] During both vacancies, the nominee was called vice president-designate, instead of vice president-elect, as neither had been elected to the office.

List of vice presidents-elect

Vice President-elect[a] Party Following Through
1 John Adams   Nonpartisan Election of 1788–89[b] George Washington's first inauguration
2 Thomas Jefferson   Democratic-Republican Election of 1796 John Adams's inauguration
3 Aaron Burr   Democratic-Republican Election of 1800[c] Thomas Jefferson's first inauguration
4 George Clinton Democratic-Republican Election of 1804 Thomas Jefferson's second inauguration
5 Elbridge Gerry Democratic-Republican Election of 1812 James Madison's second inauguration
6 Daniel D. Tompkins Democratic-Republican Election of 1816 James Monroe's first inauguration
7 John C. Calhoun Democratic-Republican Election of 1824[c] John Quincy Adams's inauguration
8 Martin Van Buren   Democratic Election of 1832 Andrew Jackson's second inauguration
9 Richard Mentor Johnson Democratic Election of 1836 Martin Van Buren's inauguration
10 John Tyler   Whig Election of 1840 William Henry Harrison's inauguration
11 George M. Dallas   Democratic Election of 1844 James K. Polk's inauguration
12 Millard Filmore   Whig Election of 1848 Zachary Taylor's inauguration
13 William R. King   Democratic Election of 1852 Oath of office administered March 24, 1853[d]
14 John C. Breckinridge Democratic Election of 1856 James Buchanan's inauguration
15 Hannibal Hamlin   Republican Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration
16 Andrew Johnson   National Union Election of 1864 Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration
17 Schuyler Colfax   Republican Election of 1868 Ulysses S. Grant's first inauguration
18 Henry Wilson Republican Election of 1872 Ulysses S. Grant's second inauguration
19 William A. Wheeler Republican Election of 1876[e] Rutherford B. Hayes's inauguration
20 Chester A. Arthur Republican Election of 1880 James A. Garfield's inauguration
21 Thomas A. Hendricks   Democratic Election of 1884 Grover Cleveland's first inauguration
22 Levi P. Morton   Republican Election of 1888 Benjamin Harrison's inauguration
23 Adlai Stevenson I   Democratic Election of 1892 Grover Cleveland's second inauguration
24 Garret Hobart   Republican Election of 1896 William McKinley's first inauguration
25 Theodore Roosevelt Republican Election of 1900 William McKinley's second inauguration
26 Charles W. Fairbanks Republican Election of 1904 Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration
27 James S. Sherman Republican Election of 1908 William Howard Taft's inauguration
28 Thomas R. Marshall   Democratic Election of 1912 Woodrow Wilson's first inauguration
29 Calvin Coolidge   Republican Election of 1920 Warren G. Harding's inauguration
20 Charles G. Dawes Republican Election of 1924 Calvin Coolidge's inauguration
31 Charles Curtis Republican Election of 1928 Herbert Hoover's inauguration
32 John Nance Garner   Democratic Election of 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration
33 Henry A. Wallace Democratic Election of 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt's third inauguration
34 Harry S. Truman Democratic Election of 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth inauguration
35 Alben W. Barkley Democratic Election of 1948 Harry S. Truman's second inauguration
36 Richard Nixon   Republican Election of 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower's first inauguration
37 Lyndon B. Johnson   Democratic Election of 1960 John F. Kennedy's inauguration
38 Hubert Humphrey Democratic Election of 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson's second inauguration
39 Spiro Agnew   Republican Election of 1968 Richard Nixon's first inauguration
40 Walter Mondale   Democratic Election of 1976 Jimmy Carter's inauguration
41 George H. W. Bush   Republican Election of 1980 Ronald Reagan's first inauguration
42 Dan Quayle Republican Election of 1988 George H. W. Bush's inauguration
43 Al Gore   Democratic Election of 1992 Bill Clinton's first inauguration
44 Dick Cheney   Republican Election of 2000[f] George W. Bush's first inauguration
45 Joe Biden   Democratic Election of 2008 Barack Obama's first inauguration
46 Mike Pence   Republican Election of 2016 Donald Trump's inauguration
47 Kamala Harris   Democratic Election of 2020 Joe Biden's inauguration
Notes:
  1. ^ Column counts number of vice president-elect. Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller are not counted because they entered office intra-term and were never elected to the vice presidency.
  2. ^ Also after a delay in the certification of the electoral votes by Congress.
  3. ^ a b Also after a contingent election in the House of Representatives.
  4. ^ Ill with tuberculosis, William King traveled to Cuba after the 1852 election in an effort to regain his health, and was not able to be in Washington, D.C. to take his oath of office on March 4, 1853. By an Act of Congress, he was allowed to take the oath outside the United States, and was sworn in on March 24, 1853 near Matanzas, Cuba. He is the only vice president to take his oath of office in a foreign country.
  5. ^ Also after a dispute over 20 electoral votes from four states was resolved by a special Electoral Commission established by Congress.
  6. ^ Also after a dispute over Florida's 25 electoral votes was resolved by the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore, which halted the Florida vote recount that was under way.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "PUBLIC LAW 88-277-MAR. 7, 1964" (PDF). govinfo.gov. United States Congress. March 7, 1964. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Chronology--Transition". p2000.us. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Bender, Michael C. (November 12, 2016). "Donald Trump Shuffles Transition Team, Making Mike Pence Chairman". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Skinner, Richard (October 7, 2016). "Bill Clinton set a bad example with his transition". Vox. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Burke, John P. (2000). Presidential Transitions: From Politics To Practice. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 1555879160.
  6. ^ Henry, Laurin L. (January 1961). Presidential Transitions. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. p. 491.
  7. ^ Coffey, Joseph P. (2015). Spiro Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 89–91. ISBN 978-1440841415.
  8. ^ Coleman, Kevin J.; Cantor, Joseph E.; Neale, Thomas H. (April 17, 2000). "Presidential Elections in the United States: A Primer" (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service - Library of Congress. p. 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 31, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Nessen, Ron (Reporter); Jamieson, Bob (Reporter); Brokaw, Tom (Anchor) (October 13, 1973). "Profile of Vice President-Designate Gerald Ford". NBC Nightly News. NBC. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  10. ^ "Nelson Rockefeller, Vice President-Designate". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  11. ^ McCaleb, Ian Christopher (December 13, 2000). "Bush, now president-elect, signals will to bridge partisan gaps". CNN.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
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