# vice president requirements **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258 "2006-07-05T20:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nmh777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/45deac/32.png) [@nmh777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nmh777)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/1 "2006-07-05T20:55:33Z")
Can a former president such as bill clinton run for vice president? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/2 "2006-07-05T21:01:20Z")
The 12th amendment (“But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”) says no. This also rules out people not born in U.S. and anyone under the age of 35. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/3 "2006-07-05T21:05:23Z")
It’s an open question of constitutional law hinging on whether [Amendment XXII](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) (“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”) triggers [Amendment XII](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) ineligibility (“But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”) or whether Amendment XII ineligibility refers only to Article II.1.5’s eligibility requirements (“No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”). To simplify, it hinges on whether “eligible” means “electable.” We’ve had a few threads on this in the past, which I know you can’t search for as a guest; [Could Bill Clinton Run As Vice President?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333302&highlight=bill+clinton+vice+president) includes links to many more. Doper **Marley23** says that Clinton himself reads the Constitution to prohibit a term as Vice President, which I agree with - while a term as Vice President (“eligibility” emaning only Article II eligibility) is textually defensible, I don’t think any Supreme Court (not just the Roberts Court) would be willing to allow this as a backdoor into a third term. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/4 "2006-07-05T21:50:30Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > I don’t think any Supreme Court (not just the Roberts Court) would be willing to allow this as a backdoor into a third term. Not just the Roberts Court? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/5 "2006-07-05T22:14:18Z")
On the other hand, Jimmy Carter could, in principle, serve fifteen Vice Presidencies in a row. He only had one term as President, so he’s unambiguously still eligible, and there’s no limit to how long you can be veep, so long as you remain eligible for the Presidency. This is assuming, of course, that he lived long enough, and that at least eight presidents wanted him as their running mate. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/6 "2006-07-05T22:51:08Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > This also rules out people not born in U.S. and anyone under the age of 35. Just a nitpick, but the requirement is “natural-born citizen” not “born in the US.” A person born in the US is a natural-born citizen, of course, but so is a person born to American parents overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/7 "2006-07-05T23:06:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > On the other hand, Jimmy Carter could, in principle, serve fifteen Vice Presidencies in a row. He only had one term as President, so he’s unambiguously still eligible, and there’s no limit to how long you can be veep, so long as you remain eligible for the Presidency. > > This is assuming, of course, that he lived long enough, and that at least eight presidents wanted him as their running mate. I don’t think JC has 60 more years in him, unless he really _is_ 90 foot tall Jimmy Carter from that SNL skit. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/8 "2006-07-05T23:12:44Z")
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, on a recent talk show, explained that she was excluded from the usual line of succession to the presidency because she was Czech-born. So, Bill Clinton could conceivably serve as Sec. of State, but would be excluded from succession because he was elected twice and served 2 full terms. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/9 "2006-07-06T00:42:47Z")
> [@FormerMarineGuy](#): > > Not just the Roberts Court? Sorry, I was sort of in the stream of consciousness there. I meant to say that regardless of the composition of the court, I doubt they would construe the Constitution to allow the OP’s scenario. I wanted to specify that I wasn’t just saying that it was a partisan decision the Roberts Court would make. Sorry for any confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/10 "2006-07-06T00:54:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > On the other hand, Jimmy Carter could, in principle, serve fifteen Vice Presidencies in a row. He only had one term as President, so he’s unambiguously still eligible, and there’s no limit to how long you can be veep, so long as you remain eligible for the Presidency. > > This is assuming, of course, that he lived long enough, and that at least eight presidents wanted him as their running mate. Maybe he and Bush41 can alternate. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-president-requirements/363258/11 "2006-07-06T00:58:20Z")
The [Unofficial GQ FAQ](http://www.seigle.net/gqfaq.html#pres) on the topic