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How did the original Electoral College system choose the president and vice president?

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Alabama certificate showing the state's electors' votes — Electoral College A certificate from Alabama showing the signatures of the state's electors in 2000. The nine electors voted for George W. Bush and his running mate Dick Cheney.

Under the original Electoral College system, electors were tasked with voting for two individuals without specifying which candidate was intended for president and which for vice president.12

The process functioned as follows:
* Voting: Each elector cast two votes for president, with the requirement that at least one of the individuals could not be an inhabitant of the elector's own state.2
* Selection: The candidate who received the highest number of votes—provided it was a majority of the total number of electors—became president. The candidate who received the second-highest number of votes became vice president.2
* Contingencies: If no candidate achieved a majority, the House of Representatives would decide the presidency by voting by state, choosing from the top five candidates. A tie for the vice presidency was to be resolved by the Senate.2

This system proved problematic as political parties emerged, leading to the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, which mandated separate ballots for the two offices.34