The Constitutional Role of the Vice President

The role of the vice president as presiding officer of the Senate during the counting of electoral votes is both critical and ambiguous. The Constitution designates the vice president as the custodian of the electoral ballots but offers little guidance on how to manage disputes over vote counting. This constitutional framework raises questions about whether the vice president possesses unilateral power to decide which electoral votes to count, particularly during contested elections. Historical cases, notably the elections of 1796 and 1800, highlight the potential conflict of interest when the vice president is a candidate for the presidency.