How is the president and vice president elected?

That candidate's vice-presidential running mate will then also receive a majority of electoral votes (for Vice-President), and that person is elected Vice-President. If There's No Electoral College Winner, the House of Representatives Chooses the President. read more

Richard Johnson was elected Vice President by the Senate when he failed to receive an absolute majority of electoral votes in the election of 1836. The President-elect and Vice President-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th. read more

The Vice-President "gets in" if and only the President gets in. Put another way, the President and Vice-President now come in a "package." Because the Vice-Presidential candidate is elected in this way, rather than being appointed after the fact, the selection of the Vice-President is seen as another "plank" in the "platform" of how the President plans to govern. read more