How does vice president get chosen

January to June of election year — States and parties hold primaries Primary: an election held to determine which of a party's candidates will receive that party's nomination and be their sole candidate later in the general election. December — Electors Elector: a person who is certified to represent their state's vote in the Electoral College. For an in-depth look at the federal election process in the U.

The First Lady of the United States has traditionally been the wife or other close female relative of the president of the United States. First Ladies are the hostesses of the White House, serve as advisors to the president, and are often involved in social issues. Over the course of American history, the role of the First Lady has changed and evolved. Its virtual First Ladies interactive tour provides a visual experience of the First Ladies' gowns and other artifacts. The United States has had 45 former U.

Visit presidential libraries and museums in person or online to learn about former presidents, see important historical documents, and explore interactive exhibits. The Honorable William J.

When sending letters to former presidents, the proper form for addressing the envelope is: The Honorable president's name. Contact the White House to request a presidential greeting. You will soon be able to purchase official portraits of the president online. If you would like to extend an invitation to, have questions for, or would like information about the president, the White House, or the status of a request, contact the White House.

Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They'll get you the answer or let you know where to find it. American Flag Branches of the U. Government Budget of the U. Government Data and Statistics About the U. Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies. The result was vice presidents who were cut out of the action, relegated to trivial duties, or dispatched to attend funerals in foreign countries or to take part in other, largely ceremonial roles.

If balance was the criterion for selection, it all but guaranteed that the office itself would be pretty uneventful. Formerly powerful senators suffered this fate.

Lyndon Johnson, the powerful majority leader of the Senate, found himself suffering one slight after another at the hands of Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, kid brother of the president.

It is not an exaggeration to say that these two probably exerted more influence on policy than all prior vice presidents combined. They also delegated substantial power to them and treated vice-presidential projects as presidential projects. Recent vice presidents have reshaped the office and the expectations Americans have for the office. What made this change possible was not so much the personal characteristics of Gore or Cheney—although they both were powerful and experienced men.

The office has been occupied by many accomplished and once-powerful former governors and legislators. What changed the relationship between presidents and their vice presidents has its roots in the nomination process.

Changes in the nomination process itself have diminished the importance of balance on the ticket and increased the importance of partnership. Before , when Clinton chose Al Gore, no nominating convention in since the s, in either party, had gone beyond a first ballot.

Because of reforms enacted between and , the power to nominate a presidential candidate had passed from the party leaders and elected officials who became convention delegates to voters in a long sequence of primaries. The conventions had become a spectacle to be captured on television cameras in prime time and not the arena for serious political negotiations.

And aside from the occasional fight over platform or party rules, the quadrennial party conventions did little business. Bill Clinton and Al Gore, for instance, disagreed over the amount of power and influence entrusted to first lady Hillary Clinton; they also disagreed over the handling of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney disagreed , at times, over Iraq, as well as the use and nonuse of presidential pardons. In contrast, Mike Pence has proved to be a loyal ally to a president who has a track record of being unwilling to listen to dissent. In the wake of the Jan. Pence ultimately avoided taking such action.

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