1. Article 2 – The executive branch of the us

2. Article 2: The Executive Branch
The President heads the Executive Branch and is described in Article II of the Constitution

3. Presidential qualifications
The US Constitution lists three rules about who can become president:
1. The person must be at least 35 years old
2. A native-born American/US citizen
3. A resident of the US for at least 14 years

4. Presidential Elections
Presidential elections take place every 4 years (November – general election)

5. Presidential Elections
The Constitution does not provide for direct popular election (vote of the people) for the president; it set up an indirect method of election called the Electoral College
The Constitution says each state shall appoint electors who then vote for one of the major candidates (Washington D.C. has 3 electoral votes- 23rd Amendment)
The Twentieth Amendment (1933) shortens the time between an election and inauguration day; moved from March 4th to January 20th

6. Electoral College System
Each state has as many electoral votes as the total of its US Senators and Representatives (Washington, DC has 3 electoral votes)
ADD- every state is guaranteed at least (3) electoral votes
Representation allotted by Population
Equal Representation- 2

7. Electoral College System
The Electoral College includes 538 electors; it is mostly a “winner-take-all” system; if a candidate wins the popular vote by a tiny majority, that candidate gets all the state’s electoral votes
To be elected president a candidate must receive at least half of the 538 electoral votes, a candidate needs 270 votes to win
If no candidate receives a majority (270) in the electoral college the House of Representatives elects the winner
The formal election by the Electoral College doesn't’t take place until December when electors meet in each state capital to cast their ballots

8. Term of Office Presidents serve 4 year terms
George Washington served two four year terms and refused to run again; many later Presidents followed his example, this is known as a precedent
ADD: Washington also warned against political parties calling them corrupt.

9. Term of Office
No president served more than two terms until 1940, when Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for and won a third term; he won a 4th term in 1944
The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits each President to 2 elected terms in office, or a maximum of ten years if his presidency began during another president’s term

10. Salary and Benefits
The president receives a salary of $400,000 per year plus money for expenses and travel; he lives and works in the White House
He also has the use of Camp David, an estate in Maryland 60 miles north of Washington, D.C.; it serves as a retreat and a place to host foreign leaders
When presidents travel, they command a fleet of special cars, helicopters, and airplanes; for long trips the president uses Air Force One a specially equipped jet

11. The Vice President
The Vice President is elected with the President by the Electoral College; the qualifications are the same as those for the President
Article I, section 3 states the VP shall preside over the Senate and vote in case of a tie
Side Note: Since 1789, the VP has had to break a tie 245 times. The most recent being in February 2017 when Mike Pence broke a tie on Secretary of Education Betsy Devos and he voted to confirm her,

12. The Vice President
If the president dies, is removed from office, falls seriously ill, or resigns, the Vice President becomes president
Side note: a new VP would have to be appointed
The Twelfth Amendment (1804) states that electors should cast separate ballots for President and Vice President
Significance of the 12th A: Election of 1796, J. Adams (Federalists) and T. Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) were chosen as P and VP from two opposing parties.

13. Presidential Succession
In 1841 William Henry Harrison became the first President to die in office, his VP John Tyler became President
In 1947 Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act which indicates the line of succession after the VP
According to this law, if the president and VP die or leave office, the Speaker of the House becomes president
Next in line is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then the Secretary of State and other members of the cabinet (15 cabinet members – Secretary of State)

14. Presidential Succession
The 25th Amendment (1967) says if the president dies or leaves office the VP becomes president, he then chooses another VP who must be approved by the Senate and House of Representatives
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.. He became President after Richard Nixon’s resignation in August, 1974.
Ford was the first person appointed to the vice- presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment.
Side note: watergate scandal (Nixon vs. US)

15. Presidential Succession
It also gives the VP a role in determining whether a president is disabled and unable to do the job, if that occurs the VP serves as acting President until the President is ready to go back to work
1985- George H. Bush was acting President while Reagan underwent surgery; 2002 and Dick Cheney was acting President while Bush underwent surgery