Washington, DC – The vice presidency in the United States does not come with much power, yet the names of vice presidential nominees appear on the ballot, yard signs and campaign merchandise next to the main candidates for president.
Vice presidents can play an outsized role in the White House beyond the narrow authorities granted by the US Constitution. And as candidates, they can help carry the message of their campaign and boost it.
This year, President Joe Biden Biden is expected to stick with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. Former President Donald Trump is set to announce his VP pick during or shortly before the Republican National Convention next month.
The VP is elected as part of the presidential ticket. So, if people vote for Biden’s re-election as president, they indirectly elect Harris for another four-year term as VP.
As the campaign season heats up, Al Jazeera looks at the VP position in the US and how vice presidential nominees are chosen.
What is the vice president’s role in the constitution?
Christopher Devine, a political science professor at the University of Dayton who has written two books about vice presidential candidates, said the VP has a “very limited set of responsibilities” according to the constitution.
“The VP takes over for the president if something happens – death, resignation or even in case of temporary incapacity. That’s the big one,” Devine told Al Jazeera.
The vice president also casts the tie-breaking vote in the Senate – something that Harris did regularly in the first two years of Biden’s presidency when the chamber was split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats.
The vice president is also the president of the Senate, but VPs have largely stopped presiding over legislative proceedings – a mostly ceremonial role – in past decades.
What does the VP do beyond official duties?
Nowadays vice presidents act as presidential advisers. They are expected to be the “last person in the room” before the president makes major decisions, Devine said.
