Could Bill Clinton be vice president?

Q. "Who becomes president if the president-elect dies before Inauguration Day? Has this ever happened before?"
No, it has not happened. If the president-elect died, the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution says “the Vice President elect shall become President.”

Q. “How is it that the media as well as other government officials know who voted for which candidate as it relates to race, gender, religion, age, etc. Is each ballot coded?”

No, ballots are not color coded.

What news organizations do is to interview a sample of voters who agree to talk about their vote, their income, their religion, and other matters as they leave the voting place.

In the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Jan. 8, for instance, a total of 285,541 people cast ballots. The exit poll done by the TV networks interviewed 1,955 of them — about seven-tenths of one percent of the total.  If the sample is done correctly, it provides an estimate of what percentage of women, for instance, voted in the New Hampshire primary for Sen. Barack Obama.

Q. “Why are elections always held on Tuesday?”
Some primary elections, such as South Carolina’s, are held on a Saturday, not on a Tuesday.

But the November presidential election is by federal law held on a Tuesday.

According to the Congressional Research Service, in 1845, Congress set a uniform time for holding presidential elections, specifying the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year.

“Tuesday was chosen partly because it gave a full day’s travel time between Sunday (often strictly observed as a day of rest) and voting day,” said the Research Service. “This was considered necessary when travel was either on foot or by horse, and the only polling place in most rural areas was at the county seat. The choice of Tuesday after the first Monday prevented elections from falling on the first day of the month, which was often reserved for court business at the county seat.”

Video McCain: ‘I will be our party's nominee’ Feb. 19: After his Wisconsin primary win, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., reminds voters that "the most important obligation for the next president is to protect Americans from violent extremists."  MSNBC

Q. “Is the Constitution written in a way that a former two-term president could be elected as vice president? President Bill Clinton running on the same ticket with Sen. Hillary Clinton? Also if this were a possibility and something prevented her from serving out her full term, he then would become president for the third time. Has this ever happened, and if so, when?”
No, it has never happened.

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution says the presidential electors "shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves….”

The effect of this provision is that a presidential candidate and his or her running mate must reside in different states.

Sen. Clinton and her husband are both residents of the same state. A Clinton-Clinton ticket would risk forfeiting all of New York’s 31 electoral votes. (He could quickly re-locate to Connecticut — only 12 miles from the Clintons' home in Chappaqua, N.Y., but that would seem a bit fishy, wouldn’t it?)

If elected president, Hillary Clinton could in theory appoint Bill Clinton to serve as vice president — but only if there were a vacancy in the office of vice president.

The 25th Amendment to the Constitution says, “Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.”

It seems unlikely that she’d ever appoint Bill Clinton to fill such a vacancy, or that the House and Senate would confirm him.

MORE FROM

Section Front

Obama campaign head gets big book deal Officials turn down Franken request Joe the Plumber to become war correspondent Franken lead at 49 with absentees left to count Minn. Senate winner won't be known in 2008 First Read: 'Twas the seventh week of recount... Franken opens first lead in Minn. Senate race Mom of Palin daughter's boyfriend arrested Minn. court weighs rejected absentee ballots Minnesota panel reviews disputed ballots Section Front   Add headlines to your news reader: