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H.J.Res. 7 · 96th CongressIn committee

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

Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary. · January 15, 1979

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

Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States and the District constituting the Seat of Government of the United States shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each elector to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature, except that for electors of President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for electors of President and Vice President the Congress may establish uniform residence qualifications. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number be at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no pair of persons has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest number of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results for such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice President have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President-elect and Vice President-elect.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 15, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

Status
Introduced
January 15, 1979
In committee
January 15, 1979
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 January 15, 1979: 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?

GEORGE DANIELSON (D-CA) introduced it on January 15, 1979. 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 January 15, 1979, 17405 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17405 days ago, on January 15, 1979.

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.