<P> As the president of the United States Senate, the vice president votes only when it is necessary to break a tie . While Senate customs have created supermajority rules that have diminished this constitutional tie - breaking authority, the vice president still retains the ability to influence legislation; for example, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 was passed in the Senate by a tie - breaking vice presidential vote . </P> <P> While the vice president's only constitutionally prescribed functions aside from presidential succession relate to their role as President of the Senate, the role of the vice president evolved during the 20th century into more of an executive branch position . Currently, the vice president is usually seen as an integral part of a president's administration and presides over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tie - breaking vote may be needed . The Constitution does not expressly assign the office to any one branch, causing a dispute among scholars whether it belongs to the executive branch, the legislative branch, or both . The modern view of the vice president as a member of the executive branch is due in part to the assignment of executive duties to the vice president by either the president or Congress . </P> <P> Mike Pence of Indiana is the 48th and current vice president . He assumed office on January 20, 2017 . </P> <P> The formation of the office of vice president resulted directly from the compromise reached at the Philadelphia Convention which created the Electoral College . The delegates at Philadelphia agreed that each state would receive a number of presidential electors equal to the sum of that state's allocation of Representatives and Senators . The delegates assumed that electors would typically choose to favor any candidate from their state (the so - called "favorite son" candidate) over candidates from other states . Under a plurality election process, this would tend to result in electing candidates solely from the largest states . Consequently, the delegates agreed that presidents must be elected by an absolute majority of the number of electors . Yet, the delegates also assumed that the requirement of an absolute majority for an election might not be sufficient to entice electors to vote for candidates who were from another state, since such a vote might be viewed by their constituents as a vote against their own state, imposing too steep a political cost on that elector's choice and ultimately resulting in elections which failed to produce a winner . To counter this potential difficulty, the delegates further agreed to give each elector two votes, requiring that at least one of their votes must be for a candidate from outside the elector's state, believing that this second vote could be cast without political cost for a statesman of national character . </P>

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