The document discusses the structure and powers of the executive branch as outlined in Article II of the US Constitution. It covers topics like the election and qualifications of the President, the line of succession, powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief and Chief Executive, and the roles and responsibilities of the Cabinet departments.

1. Article II: The Executive Branch

2. Art. II Sect. 1: Authority & Office of President The executive power of the US govt is headed up by the President with the Vice President under him; He is Chief Executive of the USA

3. Term length = 4 years

4. How is the President elected?

5. Art. II Sect. 1: Authority & Office of President The executive power of the US govt is headed up by the President with the Vice President under him; He is Chief Executive of the USA

6. Term length = 4 years

7. How is the President elected?

8. - each state appoints electors

9. How many electors per state?

10. Art. II Sect. 1: Authority & Office of President The executive power of the US govt is headed up by the President with the Vice President under him; He is Chief Executive of the USA

11. Term length = 4 years

12. How is the President elected?

13. - each state appoints electors

14. How many electors per state?

15. - equal to number of senators & representatives in Congress

16. - no one who holds a US office can be an elector

17. Note: The rest of Article II Sect. 1.2 was replaced by Amendment XII. Why?

18. Electing the Prez & VP Early on there were problems:

19. - in 1796 John Adams was elected President & Jefferson came in second, so he became VP, but they were in different parties and worked against each other while in office!

20. - a tie in 1800 for President between Thomas Jefferson & Aaron Burr, who was supposed to be his VP. It took 36 votes in the House to break the tie, with Jefferson finally winning.

21. More on Amendment XII According to Amendment XII if there is a tie in the electoral college, the House breaks the tie for the president, and the Senate breaks the tie for VP

22. Amendment XII also clarified that VP must meet qualifications for President.

23. The House had to elect the President in 1800 and 1824 and the Senate elected the VP in 1836.

24. What is the Electoral College and how does it work? Group of voters selected by each state that officially elect the President

25. The number of electors = # of senators + representatives

26. How many in Colorado?

27. What is the Electoral College and how does it work? Group of voters selected by each state that officially elect the President

28. The number of electors = # of senators + representatives

29. How many in Colorado? 10

30. How many total?

31. What is the Electoral College and how does it work? Group of voters selected by each state that officially elect the President

32. The number of electors = # of senators + representatives

33. How many in Colorado? 10

34. How many total? 538 (100 senators + 435 Reps + 3 from DC)

35. They almost always vote the way the people in their state voted. Usually winner take all, but a few states actually allocate their electors proportionately.

36. Is this a good idea?

37. What is the Electoral College and how does it work? Group of voters selected by each state that officially elect the President

38. The number of electors = # of senators + representatives

39. How many in Colorado? 10

40. How many total? 538 (100 senators + 435 Reps + 3 from DC); a candidate must win 270+ votes to win the race

41. They meet shortly after the popular vote, but the result is usually already a forgone conclusion

42. They almost always vote the way the people in their state voted. Usually winner take all, but a few states (ME, NE) actually allocate their electors proportionately.

43. Is this a good idea?

44. Electoral College cont. I prefer the winner-take-all approach. Otherwise, the state's vote is watered down in importance and the state is not considered important in the campaigning stage.

45. Why did the Founding Fathers set up the electoral college?

46. Electoral College cont. I prefer the winner-take-all approach. Otherwise, the state's vote is watered down in importance and the state is not considered important in the campaigning stage.

47. Why did the Founding Fathers set up the electoral college?

48. - They intended that only the House of Representatives would be elected by the popular vote. The electoral college gives more power to the smaller states, especially the rural states. Large cities tend to vote more liberally than the more conservative suburbs and rural areas and would have too much influence on the election without the electoral college. California, Florida, and Texas would have way too much power.

49. What happened in the 2000 Presidential Election? Who won the popular vote?

50. What happened in the 2000 Presidential Election? Who won the popular vote? Al Gore

51. Who won the electoral college vote?

52. What happened in the 2000 Presidential Election? Who won the popular vote? Al Gore

53. Who won the electoral college vote? George W. Bush

54. - It all came down to who would win Florida's electoral votes, but the race was too close to call for days. The election was hanging for weeks because of a controversy over “hanging chads,” the little bits of paper clinging to the ballots that had not been properly removed by some of the voters, so the Democrats claimed such ballots were too hard to count.

55. So, even though Gore got more votes overall, once it was established that Bush won Florida, he had more electoral votes and thus became President. What a nightmare!

56. How are electors chosen in Colorado? They're chosen by the delegates to the parties' state conventions.

57. Not a big deal for the Democrats this year because Obama is unopposed, but a huge deal for the Republicans.

58. Colorado's State Republican Party Convention is April 14. I am an alternate to that convention but hope to get to vote. We may already know who the Republican nominee will be at that point, but if not, our vote could be important.

59. We will also vote for delegates to the Republican National Convention, so this will be important, too, just in case the candidate is not yet selected, which is unlikely, but also to help set the party's national platform.

60. Art. II Sect. 1.3 Congress sets the time for the President's election.

61. When is that?

62. Art. II Sect. 1.3 – 1.4 Congress sets the time for the President's election.

63. When is that?

64. - 1 st Tuesday after the 1 st Monday in November

65. What are the qualifications to be President?