Executive Branch

How old does the President have to be?

35

Does the President have to be a natural born citizen? True or false

True

How long does the president have to be a U.S. resident for?

14 years

Maximum term length for presidents

2 full terms (4 years) and not more than 10 years

President’s annual salary

$400,000 a year

Annual expenses

$50,000 and any money left over goes to treasury

Does the president have to live in the white house?

True

6 roles in the constitution

chief of state, chief executive, chief executive, chief administrator, chief diplomat, commander in chief, chief legislator

2 roles NOT in constitution

chief of party and chief citizen

Chief of state

ceremonial head of government

Chief executive

sees that nation’s laws are carried out

Chief administrator

heads the federal bureaucracy

Chief diplomat

determines foreign policy

commander in chief

commands the armed forces

chief legislator

proposes laws to congress

chief of party

leads his or her political party (President)

Chief citizen

represents the American people

Presidential sucession

Vice president, speaker of the house, presidents of the senate and secretary of state

Vice Presidents duties

to preside over the senate and help decide the question of presidential disability

Balance the ticket

president picks the vice president to balance out, if the vice presidents is just like the presidents the people might not like it

Geographical balance

the constitution demands balance and demands that the president and vice president are from two different states

Ideological balance

president may be conservative and vice president may be moderate

Gender balance

president (male) picks a female vice president

Age balance

older president and younger vice president

Where does the president’s power come from?

article II of the constitution (the executive article is mostly vague and loosely interpreted)

The “Imperial Presidency”

president’s power is always growing

Why does the president’s power continue to grow?

they are 1 person, life in America gets more complicated and president has to fix problems, national emergencies require quick action, congress creates new programs and uses mass media to attract attention

Executive power

power to execute a law and is expressed in the oath of office and at end of article II

Ordinance power

implied from expressed powers, gives president in power to issue executive orders

Example of ordinance power

rule or regulation that has an effect of law

The appointment power

expressed in article II, president has power to appoint (only with senate approval) ambassadors, diplomats, officers, cabinet members, heads of agencies, judges and U.S. attorneys)

Removal power

gives power to dismiss anyone that they appointed (does not need senate approval) but can’t dismiss judges

Diplomatic and military powers

president has the power to make treaties (formal)

Treaty

formal agreement with another nation and must be approved by senate

Executive agreements

are informal and is a pact with another nation’s leader and doesn’t need senate approval

Power of recognition

acknowledge/support the legal existence of another country and its government

Persona non grata

an unwelcome person/leader from another country that U.S. disagrees with what they are doing. This is usually the last step before war

Legislative powers the president has

can tell congress what laws the nation needs, can sign, veto or pocket a bill

Powers of clemency (mercy)

reprieve, pardon, commutation, amnesty

Reprieve

postponement of the execution of a sentence

Pardon

legal forgiveness for a crime either before or after imprisonment, but it does’t erase crime off your record

Commutation

power to reduce the length of a sentence or amount of fine

Amnesty

general pardon offered to a group of law violators

President can only give clemency for federal crimes

True

Electoral college is a process not a place

True

Election Day

first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and voters in 50 states vote

December

electors who receive the largest number of votes in each state meet in their state capital and vote for the presidential candidate that the majority of people in their state voted for

January 6

President of U.S. Senate (Vice President) at the house session counts the ballots and the presidential candidate who received the most votes is officially declared

January 20

President is inaugurated

Why did the framers of the constitution want either a congressional selection or direct popular election?

They just won the war from the British and didn’t want to go back to how they used to be. They were worried that the people would make the wrong choice

What did the framers compromise on?

electoral college

When you are voting for a president you are actually voting for an elector to vote for you

True

What two types of votes are recorded in an election?

Popular and electoral vote

How to calculate electors for each state

The number of senators and representatives in the house added together

What is the total electoral votes for the country

538 votes

Washington DC get 3 votes

True

How many electoral votes does a presidential candidate have to have to win the election?

270 

What method does 48 out of 50 states use?

Winner takes all

Winner takes all

if the majority of the people of a certain state voted for a certain candidate then all of the electoral college votes will be for the same candidate

What do the other 2 states (Nebraska & Maine) do instead of winner takes all

they divide up their votes based on congressional district and each district will have their own election and then the senates vote for the majority 

What happens if neither candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

the house of representatives votes (1 vote per state) to decide the president

Faithless Electors

electors who vote a different candidate than what their state voted

There are federal laws or constitutional provisions that require electors to vote for what their state voted for

False

What states do presidential candidates spend more time campaigning in?

Larger states bc they have larger electoral votes and swing states

It is possible for a candidate to get more popular votes than electoral votes and still lose (bc electoral votes are what counts)

True