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H.J.Res. 549 · 96th CongressIn committee

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing for the election of the President and Vice President.

Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary. · May 14, 1980

Live record from Congress.gov, updated as the official record changes.
What this bill would do
Official summary · Congressional Research Service

Constitutional Amendment - Empowers each State to choose electors for President and Vice President equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives the State is entitled to in Congress. Mandates the popular election of electors. Requires electors who are elected according to the number of Representatives in the State to be chosen from the electoral districts formed by the State legislature. Requires that successor electors are bound to follow the declaration of voting intention that each elector must make. Stipulates that any vote cast by an elector contrary to the declaration made by the elector shall be counted as a vote cast in accordance with his declaration. States that in case of a tie the person having a majority of votes cast by electors from electoral districts shall be President. Directs that in a situation of none receiving such a majority, the Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, each having one vote, shall choose the President and Vice President from the top three votegetters. Declares a person constitutionally ineligible to be President ineligible to be Vice President. Directs each State legislature to divide the State into electoral districts containing substantially equal number of inhabitants.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 14, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

Status
Introduced
May 14, 1980
In committee
May 14, 1980
Passed a chamber
Cleared Congress
Enacted
Where this sits in the process
Common questions
Composed from the official record
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?

4 steps remain before this joint resolution could become law.

The record's latest action, on May 14, 1980: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.

  1. Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
  2. Passage by the House
  3. Passage by the Senate
  4. The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
What is a joint resolution, exactly?

A joint resolution travels the same road as a bill: both chambers pass it and the President signs it, and it then has the same force as any other law. The label is largely a matter of custom, often used for narrow or time-limited measures.

One exception matters. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution is not sent to the President at all. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it.

How likely is it to become law?

Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.

In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.

This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.

Has anyone actually voted on it?

No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.

A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.

Who is behind it?

EDWARD DERWINSKI (R-IL) introduced it on May 14, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.

Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.

How long has it been in play?

It was introduced on May 14, 1980, 16920 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16920 days ago, on May 14, 1980.

Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.

Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.

Vote history

  1. House
    In committee, no floor vote yet
  2. Senate
    Awaits House passage
  3. President
    Awaits both chambers
No recorded votes yet
No roll call in this Congress cites this bill. Most bills die in committee without ever reaching a recorded floor vote.