document_title: Electronic voting in India

question_text: when were electronic voting machines introduced for election in india

text: Electronic voting in India

text: History[edit]

text: In 1980, M. B. Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine, gazetted "Electronically operated vote counting machine" (Gazette: 191/Mas/80, 15 October 1980). His original design (using Integrated Circuits) was exhibited to the public in Government Exhibitions held in six cities across Tamil Nadu. The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Electronics Corporation of India Limited.[9] The Industrial designers of the EVMs were faculty members at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay.[10] The EVMs were first used in 1982 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency in Kerala for a limited number of polling stations.[11]

text: Design and technology[edit]

text: An EVM consists of two units, control unit and balloting unit. The two units are joined by a five-meter cable. Balloting unit facilitates voting by voter via labelled buttons while control unit controls the ballot units, stores voting counts and displays the results on 7 segment LED displays. The controller used in EVMs has its operating program etched permanently in silicon at the time of manufacturing by the manufacturer. No one (including the manufacturer) can change the program once the controller is manufactured.

text: EVMs are powered by an ordinary 6 volt alkaline battery [12] manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad. This design enables the use of EVMs throughout the country without interruptions because several parts of India do not have power supply and/or erratic power supply.

text: An EVM can record a maximum of 3840 votes and can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. There is provision for 16 candidates in a single balloting unit and up to a maximum of 4 units can be connected in parallel. The conventional ballot paper/box method of polling is used if the number of candidates exceeds 64. It is not possible to vote more than once by pressing the button again and again. As soon as a particular button on the balloting unit is pressed, the vote is recorded for that particular candidate and the machine gets locked. Even if one presses that button further or any other button, no further vote will be recorded. This way the EVMs ensure the principle of "one person, one vote".

text: Procedure to use[edit]

text: The control unit is with the presiding officer or a polling officer and the balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment. The balloting unit presents the voter with blue buttons (momentary switch) horizontally labelled with corresponding party symbol and candidate names. The Control Unit on the other hand provides the officer in-charge with a "Ballot" marked button to proceed to the next voter, instead of issuing a ballot paper to them. This activates the ballot unit for a single vote from the next voter in queue.The voter has to cast his vote by once pressing the blue button on the balloting unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice.

text: As soon as the last voter has voted, the Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will press the 'Close' Button. Thereafter, the EVM will not accept any votes. Further, after the close of poll, the Balloting Unit is disconnected from the Control Unit and kept separately. Votes can be recorded only through the Balloting Unit. Again the Presiding officer, at the close of the poll, will hand over to each polling agent present an account of votes recorded. At the time of counting of votes, the total will be tallied with this account and if there is any discrepancy, this will be pointed out by the Counting Agents. During the counting of votes, the results are displayed by pressing the 'Result' button. There are two safeguards to prevent the 'Result' button from being pressed before the counting of votes officially begins. (a) This button cannot be pressed till the 'Close' button is pressed by the Polling Officer in-charge at the end of the voting process in the polling booth. (b) This button is hidden and sealed; this can be broken only at the counting center in the presence of designated office.

text: Benefits[edit]

text: The cost per EVM was ₹5,500 (equivalent to ₹41,000 or US$640 in 2016) at the time the machines were purchased in 1989–90. The cost was estimated to be ₹10,500 (equivalent to ₹12,000 or US$180 in 2016) per unit as per an additional order issued in 2014[13]. Even though the initial investment was heavy, it has since been expected to save costs of production and printing of crores of ballot papers, their transportation and storage, substantial reduction in the counting staff and the remuneration paid to them. For each national election, it is estimated that about 10,000 tonnes of ballot paper is saved. EVMs are easier to transport compared to ballot boxes as they are lighter, more portable, and come with polypropylene carrying cases. Vote counting is also faster. In places where illiteracy is a factor, illiterate people find EVMs easier than ballot paper system. Bogus voting is greatly reduced as the vote is recorded only once. The unit can store the result in its memory before it is erased manually. The battery is required only to activate the EVMs at the time of polling and counting and as soon as the polling is over, the battery can be switched off. The shelf life of Indian EVMs is estimated at 15 years[14].

text: Limitations[edit]

text: A candidate can know how many people from a polling station voted for him. This is a significant issue particularly if lop-sided votes for/against a candidate are cast in individual polling stations and the winning candidate might show favoritism or hold grudge on specific areas. The Election Commission of India has stated that the manufacturers of the EVMs have developed a Totaliser unit which can connect several balloting units and would display only the overall results from an Assembly or a Lok Sabha constituency instead of votes from individual polling stations.[15][16]

text: The control units do not electronically transmit their results back to the Election Commission, even though a simple and unconditionally secure protocol for doing this exists. The Indian EVMs are purposely designed as stand-alone units to prevent any intrusion during electronic transmission of results. Instead, the EVMs are collected in counting booths and tallied on the assigned counting day(s) in the presence of polling agents of the candidates.

text: Security issues[edit]

text: An international conference on the Indian EVMs and its tamperability of the said machines was held under the chairmanship of Subramanian Swamy, President of the Janata Party and former Union Cabinet Minister for Law, Commerce and Justice at Chennai on 13 February 2010. The conclusion was that the Election Commission of India was shirking its responsibility on the transparency in the working of the EVMs.[17] In April 2010, an independent security analysis[1] was released by a research team led by Hari Prasad, Rop Gonggrijp, and J. Alex Halderman. The study included video demonstrations[2] of two attacks that the researchers carried out on a real EVM, as well as descriptions of several other potential vulnerabilities[4][18]

text: In order to mitigate these threats, the researchers suggest moving to a voting system that provides greater transparency, such as paper ballots, precinct count optical scan, or a voter verified paper audit trail, since, in any of these systems, sceptical voters could, in principle, observe the physical counting process to gain confidence that the outcome is fair. But Election Commission of India points out that for such tampering of the EVMs, one needs physical access to EVMs, and pretty high tech skills are required. Given that EVMs are stored under strict security which can be monitored by candidates or their agents all the time, its impossible to gain physical access to the machines. Plus, to impact the results of an election, hundreds to thousands of machines will be needed to tamper with, which is almost impossible given the hi-tech and time consuming nature of the tampering process.[19][20]

text: On 25 July 2011, responding to a PIL (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 312 of 2011), Supreme Court of India asked EC to consider request to modify EVMs and respond within 3 months. The petitioner Rajendra Satyanarayan Gilda had alleged that EC has failed to take any decision despite his repeated representation. The petitioner suggested that the EVMs should be modified to give a slip printed with the symbol of the party in whose favour the voter cast his ballot.[5][21][22][23]

text: On 17 January 2012, Delhi High Court in its ruling on Dr. Subramanian Swamy's Writ Petition (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 11879 of 2009) challenging the use of EVMs in the present form said that EVMs are not "tamper-proof". Further, it said that it is "difficult" to issue any directions to the EC in this regard. However, the court added that the EC should itself hold wider consultations with the executive, political parties and other stake holders on the matter.[24][25]

text: Swamy appealed against Delhi High Court's refusal to order a VVPAT system in Supreme Court. On 27 September 2012, Election Commission's advocate Ashok Desai submitted to a Supreme Court bench of Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi that field trial for VVPAT system is in progress and that a status report will be submitted by early January 2013. Desai said that on pressing of each vote, a paper receipt will be printed, which will be visible to the voters inside a glass but cannot be taken out of the machine. Dr Swamy said that the new system was acceptable to him.

text: The Supreme Court posted the matter for further hearing to 22 January 2013[26][27] and on 8 October 2013, it delivered a verdict, that the Election Commission of India will use VVPAT[28].

text: Another similar writ petition filed by the Asom Gana Parishad is still pending before the Gauhati High Court.[29]

text: Voter-verified paper audit trail[edit]

text: On 8 October 2010 Election Commission appointed an expert technical committee headed by Prof PV Indiresan (former Director of IIT-M) when at an all-party meeting majority of political parties backed the proposal to have a VVPAT in EVMs to counter the charges of tampering. The committee was tasked to examine the possibility of introduction of a paper trail so that voters can get a printout that will show symbol of the party to which the vote was cast.[6] After studying the issue, the committee recommended introduction of VVPAT system.[30]

text: On 21 June 2011, Election Commission accepted Indiresan committee's recommendations and decided to conduct field trials of the system.[31] On 26 July 2011, field trials of the VVPAT system were conducted at Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Cherrapunjee in Meghalaya, East Delhi in Delhi and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.[32][33]

text: Just two days after Delhi High Court judgement saying EVMs are not "tamper-proof", Election Commission on 19 January 2012 ordered Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to make EVMs that will generate a "paper trail" of the vote cast. BEL CMD Anil Kumar said: "The new EVMs' paper trail should make the poll process safer and tamper-proof. EC has given us its requirement for EVMs and work is on to incorporate new features. The EVM software will be modified and a printer attached to it. When you cast a vote, the serial number and some data will be generated as a printout. It is to ensure that there is no malpractice in the voting system." It appears that, when the voter presses the button for the candidate of his choice in the EVM, a paper ballot with the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate will be printed.[34] The printouts will be used later to cross-check the voting data stored in the EVMs. Talking about other features in new EVMs, he said the machines will be more rugged and smaller in size but with more computing power.[7][35]

text: The voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system which enables EVM to record each vote cast by generating the EVM slip,[36] was introduced in 8 of 543 parliamentary constituencies as a pilot project.[8][37][38][39] VVPAT is implemented in Lucknow, Gandhinagar, Bangalore South, Chennai Central, Jadavpur, Raipur, Patna Sahib and Mizoram constituencies.[40][41][42][43][44][45] Voter-verified paper audit trail was first used in an election in India in September 2013 in Noksen (Assembly Constituency) in Nagaland.[46][47]

text: On 8 October 2013, Supreme Court of India delivered its verdict on Subramanian Swamy's PIL, that Election Commission of India will use VVPAT along with EVMs in a phased manner and the full completion should be achieved by 2019.[48][49][50][51][28]

text: Exports[edit]

text: Nepal, Bhutan, Namibia and Kenya have purchased India-manufactured EVMs. Fiji was expected to use Indian EVMs in its elections in 2014. In 2013, the Election Commission of Namibia acquired 1700 control units and 3500 ballot units from India's Bharat Electronics Limited; these units will be used in the regional and presidential elections in 2014.[52] Several other Asian and African countries are reportedly interested in using them as well.[53]


document_title: Systems theory in political science

question_text: who has established the concept of input output model in political system

root

text: Systems theory in political science

text: Systems theory in political science is a highly abstract, partly holistic view of politics, influenced by cybernetics. The adaptation of system theory to political science was first conceived by David Easton in 1953.

tag: p

text: Overview[edit]

text: In simple terms, Easton's behavioral approach to politics, proposed that a political system could be seen as a delimited (i.e. all political systems have precise boundaries) and fluid (changing) system of steps in decision making. Greatly simplifying his model:[1]

text:
Step 1. changes in the social or physical environment surrounding a political system produce "demands" and "supports" for action or the status quo directed as "inputs" towards the political system, through political behavior.
Step 2, these demands and supporting groups stimulate competition in a political system, leading to decisions or "outputs" directed at some aspect of the surrounding social or physical environment.
Step 3, after a decision or output is made (e.g., a specific policy), it interacts with its environment, and if it produces change in the environment, there are "outcomes."
Step 4, when a new policy interacts with its environment, outcomes may generate new demands or supports and groups in support or against the policy ("feedback") or a new policy on some related matter.
Step 5, feedback, leads back to Step 1, forming a never-ending cycle.

tag: ul

text: If the system functions as described, then we have a "stable political system". If the system breaks down, then we have a "dysfunctional political system".

text: Political analysis[edit]

text: Easton aspired to make politics a science, that is, working with highly abstract models that described the regularities of patterns and processes in political life in general. In his view, the highest level of abstraction could make scientific generalizations about politics possible. In sum, politics should be seen as a whole, not as a collection of different problems to be solved.[2]

text: His main model was driven by an organic view of politics, as if it were a living object. His theory is a statement of what makes political systems adapt and survive. He describes politics in a constant flux, thereby rejecting the idea of "equilibrium", so prevalent in some other political theories (see institutionalism). Moreover, he rejects the idea that politics could be examined by looking at different levels of analysis. His abstractions could account for any group and demand at any given time. That is, interest group theory and elite theory can be subsumed in political systems analysis.[3]

text: His theory was and is highly influential in the pluralist tradition in political science. (see Harold Lasswell and Robert Dahl)

text:
Behavioralism
David Easton
Karl W. Deutsch
Structural-functionalism
Niklas Luhmann


document_title: President of the United States

question_text: presidential qualifications include being a resident of the united states for __ years

question_tokens: presidential qualifications include being a resident of the united states for -- -- years

text: President of the United States

text: Origin

text: During the American Revolution in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain. The new states were independent of each other as nation states[20] and recognized the necessity of closely coordinating their efforts against the British.[21] Congress desired to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy and negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish an alliance between the states.[20] Under the Articles, Congress was a central authority without any legislative power. It could make its own resolutions, determinations, and regulations, but not any laws, and could not impose any taxes or enforce local commercial regulations upon its citizens.[21] This institutional design reflected how Americans believed the deposed British system of Crown and Parliament ought to have functioned with respect to the royal dominion: a superintending body for matters that concerned the entire empire.[21] The states were out from under any monarchy and assigned some formerly royal prerogatives (e.g., making war, receiving ambassadors, etc.) to Congress; the remaining prerogatives were lodged within their own respective state governments. The states agreed to a resolution that settled competing western land claims. The Articles took effect on March 1, 1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them.

text: In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies. With peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs.[20] By 1786, Americans found their continental borders besieged and weak and their respective economies in crises as neighboring states agitated trade rivalries with one another. They witnessed their hard currency pouring into foreign markets to pay for imports, their Mediterranean commerce preyed upon by North African pirates, and their foreign-financed Revolutionary War debts unpaid and accruing interest.[20] Civil and political unrest loomed.

text: Following the successful resolution of commercial and fishing disputes between Virginia and Maryland at the Mount Vernon Conference in 1785, Virginia called for a trade conference between all the states, set for September 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland, with an aim toward resolving further-reaching interstate commercial antagonisms. When the convention failed for lack of attendance due to suspicions among most of the other states, Alexander Hamilton led the Annapolis delegates in a call for a convention to offer revisions to the Articles, to be held the next spring in Philadelphia. Prospects for the next convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washington's attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia.[20][22]

text: When the Constitutional Convention convened in May 1787, the 12 state delegations in attendance (Rhode Island did not send delegates) brought with them an accumulated experience over a diverse set of institutional arrangements between legislative and executive branches from within their respective state governments. Most states maintained a weak executive without veto or appointment powers, elected annually by the legislature to a single term only, sharing power with an executive council, and countered by a strong legislature.[20] New York offered the greatest exception, having a strong, unitary governor with veto and appointment power elected to a three-year term, and eligible for reelection to an indefinite number of terms thereafter.[20] It was through the closed-door negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U.S. Constitution emerged.

text: Powers and duties

text: Article I legislative role

text: The Presentment Clause requires that any bill passed by Congress must be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options:

text:
Sign the legislation within ten days, excluding Sundays – the bill becomes law.
Veto the legislation within the above timeframe and return it to the house of Congress from which it originated, expressing any objections – the bill does not become law, unless both houses of Congress vote to override the veto by a two-thirds vote.
Take no action on the legislation within the above timeframe – the bill becomes law, as if the president had signed it, unless Congress is adjourned at the time, in which case it does not become law (a pocket veto).

tag: ol

text: In 1996, Congress attempted to enhance the president's veto power with the Line Item Veto Act. The legislation empowered the president to sign any spending bill into law while simultaneously striking certain spending items within the bill, particularly any new spending, any amount of discretionary spending, or any new limited tax benefit. Congress could then repass that particular item. If the president then vetoed the new legislation, Congress could override the veto by its ordinary means, a two-thirds vote in both houses. In Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such a legislative alteration of the veto power to be unconstitutional.

text: Article II executive powers

text: War and foreign affairs powers

text: One of the most important of all executive powers is the president's role as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The power to declare war is constitutionally vested in Congress, but the president has ultimate responsibility for the direction and disposition of the military. The present-day operational command of the Armed Forces is delegated to the Department of Defense and is normally exercised through the Secretary of Defense. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combatant Commands assist with the operation as outlined in the presidentially approved Unified Command Plan (UCP).[23][24][25] The framers of the Constitution took care to limit the president's powers regarding the military; Alexander Hamilton explained this in Federalist No. 69:

text: The President is to be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. ... It would amount to nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces ... while that [the power] of the British king extends to the DECLARING of war and to the RAISING and REGULATING of fleets and armies, all [of] which ... would appertain to the legislature.[26] [Emphasis in the original.]

text: Pursuant to the War Powers Resolution, Congress must authorize any troop deployments longer than 60 days, although that process relies on triggering mechanisms that have never been employed, rendering it ineffectual.[27] Additionally, Congress provides a check to presidential military power through its control over military spending and regulation. Presidents have historically initiated the process for going to war,[28][29] but critics have charged that there have been several conflicts in which presidents did not get official declarations, including Theodore Roosevelt's military move into Panama in 1903,[28] the Korean War,[28] the Vietnam War,[28] and the invasions of Grenada in 1983[30] and Panama in 1990.[31]

text: Administrative powers

text:
Suffice it to say that the President is made the sole repository of the executive powers of the United States, and the powers entrusted to him as well as the duties imposed upon him are awesome indeed.

William Rehnquist, Nixon v. General Services Administration, 433 U.S. 425 (1977) (dissenting opinion)

tag: div

text: The president is the head of the executive branch of the federal government and is constitutionally obligated to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed".[32] The executive branch has over four million employees, including members of the military.[33]

text: Presidents make numerous executive branch appointments: an incoming president may make up to 6,000 before taking office and 8,000 more while serving. Ambassadors, members of the Cabinet, and other federal officers, are all appointed by a president with the "advice and consent" of a majority of the Senate. When the Senate is in recess for at least ten days, the president may make recess appointments.[34] Recess appointments are temporary and expire at the end of the next session of the Senate.

text: The power of a president to fire executive officials has long been a contentious political issue. Generally, a president may remove executive officials purely at will.[35] However, Congress can curtail and constrain a president's authority to fire commissioners of independent regulatory agencies and certain inferior executive officers by statute.[36]

text: To manage the growing federal bureaucracy, presidents have gradually surrounded themselves with many layers of staff, who were eventually organized into the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Within the Executive Office, the president's innermost layer of aides (and their assistants) are located in the White House Office.

text: Additionally, the president possesses the power to manage operations of the federal government through issuing various types of directives, such as presidential proclamation and executive orders. When the president is lawfully exercising one of his constitutionally conferred responsibilities, the scope of this power is broad.[37] Even so, these directives are subject to judicial review by U.S. federal courts, which can find them to be unconstitutional. Moreover, Congress can overturn an executive order though legislation.

text: Juridical powers

text: The president also has the power to nominate federal judges, including members of the United States courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. However, these nominations require Senate confirmation. Securing Senate approval can provide a major obstacle for presidents who wish to orient the federal judiciary toward a particular ideological stance. When nominating judges to U.S. district courts, presidents often respect the long-standing tradition of senatorial courtesy. Presidents may also grant pardons and reprieves. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon a month after taking office. Bill Clinton pardoned Patty Hearst on his last day in office, as is often done just before the end of a second presidential term, but not without controversy.[38][39][40]

text: Historically, two doctrines concerning executive power have developed that enable the president to exercise executive power with a degree of autonomy. The first is executive privilege, which allows the president to withhold from disclosure any communications made directly to the president in the performance of executive duties. George Washington first claimed the privilege when Congress requested to see Chief Justice John Jay's notes from an unpopular treaty negotiation with Great Britain. While not enshrined in the Constitution, or any other law, Washington's action created the precedent for the privilege. When Richard Nixon tried to use executive privilege as a reason for not turning over subpoenaed evidence to Congress during the Watergate scandal, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974), that executive privilege did not apply in cases where a president was attempting to avoid criminal prosecution. When President Bill Clinton attempted to use executive privilege regarding the Lewinsky scandal, the Supreme Court ruled in Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 (1997), that the privilege also could not be used in civil suits. These cases established the legal precedent that executive privilege is valid, although the exact extent of the privilege has yet to be clearly defined. Additionally, federal courts have allowed this privilege to radiate outward and protect other executive branch employees, but have weakened that protection for those executive branch communications that do not involve the president.[41]

text: The state secrets privilege allows the president and the executive branch to withhold information or documents from discovery in legal proceedings if such release would harm national security. Precedent for the privilege arose early in the 19th century when Thomas Jefferson refused to release military documents in the treason trial of Aaron Burr and again in Totten v. United States 92 U.S. 105 (1876), when the Supreme Court dismissed a case brought by a former Union spy.[42] However, the privilege was not formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court until United States v. Reynolds 345 U.S. 1 (1953), where it was held to be a common law evidentiary privilege.[43] Before the September 11 attacks, use of the privilege had been rare, but increasing in frequency.[44] Since 2001, the government has asserted the privilege in more cases and at earlier stages of the litigation, thus in some instances causing dismissal of the suits before reaching the merits of the claims, as in the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.[43][45][46] Critics of the privilege claim its use has become a tool for the government to cover up illegal or embarrassing government actions.[47][48]

text: Legislative facilitator

text: The Constitution's Ineligibility Clause prevents the president (and all other executive officers) from simultaneously being a member of Congress. Therefore, the president cannot directly introduce legislative proposals for consideration in Congress. However, the president can take an indirect role in shaping legislation, especially if the president's political party has a majority in one or both houses of Congress. For example, the president or other officials of the executive branch may draft legislation and then ask senators or representatives to introduce these drafts into Congress. The president can further influence the legislative branch through constitutionally or statutorily mandated, periodic reports to Congress. These reports may be either written or oral, but today the greatest in importance are given as the oral State of the Union addresses, which often outline the president's legislative proposals for the coming year. Additionally, the president may attempt to have Congress alter proposed legislation by threatening to veto that legislation unless requested changes are made.

text: In the 20th century, critics charged that too many legislative and budgetary powers that should have belonged to Congress had slid into the hands of presidents. As the head of the executive branch, presidents control a vast array of agencies that can issue regulations with little oversight from Congress. One critic charged that presidents could appoint a "virtual army of 'czars' – each wholly unaccountable to Congress yet tasked with spearheading major policy efforts for the White House".[49] Presidents have been criticized for making signing statements when signing congressional legislation about how they understand a bill or plan to execute it.[50] This practice has been criticized by the American Bar Association as unconstitutional.[51] Conservative commentator George Will wrote of an "increasingly swollen executive branch" and "the eclipse of Congress".[52]

text: According to Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution, the president may convene either or both houses of Congress. If both houses cannot agree on a date of adjournment, the president may appoint a date for Congress to adjourn. For example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt convened a special session of Congress immediately after the December 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and asked for a declaration of war.

text: Ceremonial roles

text: As head of state, the president can fulfill traditions established by previous presidents. William Howard Taft started the tradition of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on the Washington Senators' Opening Day. Every president since Taft, except for Jimmy Carter, threw out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare.[53]

text: The President of the United States has served as the honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America since the founding of the organization.[54]

text: Other presidential traditions are associated with American holidays. Rutherford B. Hayes began in 1878 the first White House egg rolling for local children.[55] Beginning in 1947, during the Harry S. Truman administration, every Thanksgiving the president is presented with a live domestic turkey during the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation held at the White House. Since 1989, when the custom of "pardoning" the turkey was formalized by George H. W. Bush, the turkey has been taken to a farm where it will live out the rest of its natural life.[56]

text: Presidential traditions also involve the president's role as head of government. Many outgoing presidents since James Buchanan traditionally give advice to their successor during the presidential transition.[57] Ronald Reagan and his successors have also left a private message on the desk of the Oval Office on Inauguration Day for the incoming president.[58]

text:
Four ruffles and flourishes and 'Hail to the Chief' (long version)

Problems playing this file? See media help.

tag: table

text: During a state visit by a foreign head of state, the president typically hosts a State Arrival Ceremony held on the South Lawn, a custom begun by John F. Kennedy in 1961.[59] This is followed by a state dinner given by the president which is held in the State Dining Room later in the evening.[60]

text: The modern presidency holds the president as one of the nation's premier celebrities. Some argue that images of the presidency have a tendency to be manipulated by administration public relations officials as well as by presidents themselves. One critic described the presidency as "propagandized leadership" which has a "mesmerizing power surrounding the office".[61] Administration public relations managers staged carefully crafted photo-ops of smiling presidents with smiling crowds for television cameras.[62] One critic wrote the image of John F. Kennedy was described as carefully framed "in rich detail" which "drew on the power of myth" regarding the incident of PT 109[63] and wrote that Kennedy understood how to use images to further his presidential ambitions.[64] As a result, some political commentators have opined that American voters have unrealistic expectations of presidents: voters expect a president to "drive the economy, vanquish enemies, lead the free world, comfort tornado victims, heal the national soul and protect borrowers from hidden credit-card fees".[65]

text: Critics of presidency's evolution

text: The nation's Founding Fathers expected the Congress—which was the first branch of government described in the Constitution—to be the dominant branch of government; they did not expect a strong executive department.[66] However, presidential power has shifted over time, which has resulted in claims that the modern presidency has become too powerful,[67][68] unchecked, unbalanced,[69] and "monarchist" in nature.[70] Critic Dana D. Nelson believes presidents over the past thirty years have worked towards "undivided presidential control of the executive branch and its agencies".[71] She criticizes proponents of the unitary executive for expanding "the many existing uncheckable executive powers – such as executive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statements – that already allow presidents to enact a good deal of foreign and domestic policy without aid, interference or consent from Congress".[71] Activist Bill Wilson opined that the expanded presidency was "the greatest threat ever to individual freedom and democratic rule".[72]

text: Selection process

text: Eligibility

text: Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets the following qualifications for holding the presidency:

text:
be a natural-born citizen of the United States;[note 4]
be at least thirty-five years old;
be a resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.

text: A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding the office of president under any of the following conditions:

text:
Under the Twenty-second Amendment, no person can be elected president more than twice. The amendment also specifies that if any eligible person serves as president or acting president for more than two years of a term for which some other eligible person was elected president, the former can only be elected president once. Scholars disagree over whether a person precluded by the Twenty-second Amendment to being elected president is also precluded from being vice president.[73]
Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, upon conviction in impeachment cases, the Senate has the option of disqualifying convicted individuals from holding federal office, including that of president.[74]
Under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, no person who swore an oath to support the Constitution, and later rebelled against the United States, can become president. However, this disqualification can be lifted by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress.

text: Campaigns and nomination

text: The modern presidential campaign begins before the primary elections, which the two major political parties use to clear the field of candidates before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the party's nominee for president. Typically, the party's presidential candidate chooses a vice presidential nominee, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention. The most common previous profession of U.S. presidents is lawyer.[75]

text: Nominees participate in nationally televised debates, and while the debates are usually restricted to the Democratic and Republican nominees, third party candidates may be invited, such as Ross Perot in the 1992 debates. Nominees campaign across the country to explain their views, convince voters and solicit contributions. Much of the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states through frequent visits and mass media advertising drives.

text: Election and oath

text: The president is elected indirectly. A number of electors, collectively known as the Electoral College, officially select the president. On Election Day, voters in each of the states and the District of Columbia cast ballots for these electors. Each state is allocated a number of electors, equal to the size of its combined delegation in both Houses of Congress. Generally, the ticket that wins the most votes in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes and thus has its slate of electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College.

text: The winning slate of electors meet at its state's capital on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, about six weeks after the election, to vote. They then send a record of that vote to Congress. The vote of the electors is opened by the sitting vice president—acting in that role's capacity as President of the Senate—and read aloud to a joint session of the incoming Congress, which was elected at the same time as the president.

text: Pursuant to the Twentieth Amendment, the president's term of office begins at noon on January 20 of the year following the election. This date, known as Inauguration Day, marks the beginning of the four-year terms of both the president and the vice president. Before executing the powers of the office, a president is constitutionally required to take the presidential oath:

text: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.[76]

text: Presidents have traditionally palmed a Bible while taking the oath and have added, "So help me God!" to the end of the oath.[77] Although the oath may be administered by any person authorized by law to administer oaths, presidents are traditionally sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States, except when vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency due to a president's death or resignation.

text: Tenure and term limits

text: The term of office for the president is four years. As the first president, George Washington set an unofficial precedent by serving only two terms. Prior to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt both unsuccessfully sought a third term. In 1940, FDR was elected to a third term after being "drafted" by his party. In 1941, the United States entered World War II, which led voters to elect Roosevelt to a fourth term in 1944 despite his declining physical health; he died 82 days into his fourth term on April 12, 1945.

text: In response to the unprecedented length of Roosevelt's presidency, the Twenty-second Amendment was adopted in 1951. The amendment bars anyone from being elected president more than twice, or once if that person served more than two years (24 months) of another president's four-year term. Harry S. Truman, president when this term limit came into force, was exempted from its limitations, and briefly sought a second full term—to which he would have otherwise inelegible for election to, as he had been president for more than two years of Roosevelt's fourth term—before he withdrew from the 1952 election.

text: Since the amendment's adoption, five presidents have served two full terms: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Both Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush sought a second term, but were defeated. Richard Nixon was elected to a second term, but resigned before completing it. Lyndon B. Johnson, having held the presidency for one full term in addition to only 14 months of John F. Kennedy's unexpired term, was eligible for a second full term in 1968, but withdrew from Democratic Primary. Additionally, Gerald Ford, who served out the last two years and five months of Nixon's second term, sought a full term, but was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election.

text: Succession, vacancy, or disability

text: Succession to or vacancies in the office of president may arise under several possible circumstances: death, resignation, and removal from office. Deaths have occurred a number of times, resignation has occurred only once, and removal from office has never occurred.

text: Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution allows for the removal of high federal officials, including the president, from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 gives the House of Representatives the power to impeach such officials by a majority vote. Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 gives the Senate the power to remove impeached officials from office, given a two-thirds vote to convict. The House has thus far impeached two presidents: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither was convicted by the Senate. Johnson was acquitted by just one vote and Clinton by 17 votes.

text: Under Section 3 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the president may transfer the presidential powers and duties to the vice president, who then becomes acting president, by transmitting a statement to the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate stating the reasons for the transfer. The president resumes the discharge of the presidential powers and duties upon transmitting, to those two officials, a written declaration stating that resumption. This transfer of power may occur for any reason the president considers appropriate; in 2002 and again in 2007, President George W. Bush briefly transferred presidential authority to Vice President Dick Cheney. In both cases, this was done to accommodate a medical procedure that required Bush to be sedated; both times, Bush returned to duty later the same day.[78]

text: Under Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the vice president, in conjunction with a majority of the Cabinet, may transfer the presidential powers and duties from the president to the vice president by transmitting a written declaration to the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate that the president is unable to discharge the presidential powers and duties. If this occurs, then the vice president will assume the presidential powers and duties as acting president; however, the president can declare that no such inability exists and resume the discharge of the presidential powers and duties. If the vice president and Cabinet contest this claim, it is up to Congress, which must meet within two days if not already in session, to decide the merit of the claim.

text: The United States Constitution mentions the resignation of the president, but does not regulate its form or the conditions for its validity. Pursuant to federal law, the only valid evidence of the president's resignation is a written instrument to that effect, signed by the president and delivered to the office of the Secretary of State.[79] This has only occurred once, when Richard Nixon delivered a letter to Henry Kissinger to that effect.

text: Section 1 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment states that the vice president becomes president upon the removal from office, death, or resignation of the preceding president. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 provides that if the offices of president and vice president are each either vacant or are held by a disabled person, the next officer in the presidential line of succession, the Speaker of the House, becomes acting president. The line then extends to the President pro tempore of the Senate, followed by every member of the Cabinet. The constitutionality of having congressional officials in the line of succession has been questioned. A person must fulfill all eligibility requirements of the office of president to be eligible to become acting president; ineligible individuals are skipped.

text: Political affiliation

text: Throughout most of its history, politics of the United States have been dominated by political parties. Political parties had not been anticipated when the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787, nor did they exist at the time of the first presidential election in 1788–1789. Organized political parties developed in the U.S. in the mid–1790s, but political factions, from which organized parties evolved, began to appear almost immediately after the Federal government came into existence. Those who supported the Washington administration were referred to as "pro-administration" and would eventually form the Federalist Party, while those in opposition joined the emerging Democratic-Republican Party.[80]

text: Greatly concerned about the very real capacity of political parties to destroy the fragile unity holding the nation together, Washington remained unaffiliated with any political faction or party throughout his eight-year presidency. He was, and remains, the only U.S. president never to be affiliated with a political party.[81] Since George Washington, 43 persons have been sworn into the office of president, and each has been affiliated with a political party at the time of assuming office. The number of presidents per political party are:

text:
19 with the Republican Party – Chester A. Arthur, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Herbert Hoover, Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Donald Trump
15 with the Democratic Party – James Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, Grover Cleveland, Bill Clinton, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, Franklin Pierce, James K. Polk, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Martin Van Buren, and Woodrow Wilson
Four with the Democratic-Republican Party – John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe
Four with the Whig Party – Millard Fillmore, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and John Tyler
Two with the National Union Party – Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson
One with the Federalist Party – John Adams[82]

text: Compensation

text:
Presidential pay history

Date established
Salary
Salary in 2016
dollars

September 24, 1789
$25,000
$702,755

March 3, 1873
$50,000
$1,032,868

March 4, 1909
$75,000
$2,045,483

January 19, 1949
$100,000
$1,008,433

January 20, 1969
$200,000
$1,307,940

January 20, 2001
$400,000
$542,082

Sources:[83][84][85]

text: Since 2001, the president has earned a $400,000 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment.[86][87] The most recent raise in salary was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 and went into effect in 2001.[87]

text: Residence

text: The White House in Washington, D.C. serves as the official residence of the president. Facilities that are available to the president include access to the White House staff, medical care, recreation, housekeeping, and security services. The government pays for state dinners and other official functions, but the president pays for personal, family, and guest dry cleaning and food; the high food bill often amazes new residents.[88] Camp David, officially titled Naval Support Facility Thurmont, is a mountain-based military camp in Frederick County, Maryland, used as a country retreat and for high alert protection of the president and guests. Blair House, located next to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House Complex and Lafayette Park, is a complex of four connected townhouses exceeding 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) of floor space that serves as the president's official guest house and as a secondary residence for the president if needed.[89]

text: Travel

text: The primary means of long distance air travel for the president is one of two identical Boeing VC-25 aircraft, which are extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners and are referred to as Air Force One while the president is on board (although any U.S. Air Force aircraft the president is aboard is designated as "Air Force One" for the duration of the flight). In-country trips are typically handled with just one of the two planes, while overseas trips are handled with both, one primary and one backup. The president also has access to smaller Air Force aircraft, most notably the Boeing C-32, which are used when the president must travel to airports that cannot support a jumbo jet. Any civilian aircraft the president is aboard is designated Executive One for the flight.[90][91]

text: For short distance air travel, the president has access to a fleet of U.S. Marine Corps helicopters of varying models, designated Marine One when the president is aboard any particular one in the fleet. Flights are typically handled with as many as five helicopters all flying together and frequently swapping positions as to disguise which helicopter the president is actually aboard to any would-be threats.

text: For ground travel, the president uses the presidential state car, which is an armored limousine designed to look like a Cadillac sedan, but built on a truck chassis.[92][93] The US Secret Service operates and maintains the fleet of several limousines. The president also has access to two armored motorcoaches, which are primarily used for touring trips.[94]

text: Protection

text: The U.S. Secret Service is charged with protecting the president and the first family. As part of their protection, presidents, first ladies, their children and other immediate family members, and other prominent persons and locations are assigned Secret Service codenames.[95] The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition.[96]

text:
Presidential amenities

The White House

Camp David

Blair House

State car

Air Force One

Marine One

text: Post-presidency

text: Under the Former Presidents Act, all living former presidents are granted a pension, an office, and a staff. The pension has increased numerous times with Congressional approval. Retired presidents now receive a pension based on the salary of the current administration's cabinet secretaries, which was $199,700 each year in 2012.[97] Former presidents who served in Congress may also collect congressional pensions.[98] The act also provides former presidents with travel funds and franking privileges. Prior to 1997, all former presidents, their spouses, and their children until age 16 were protected by the Secret Service until the president's death.[99][100] In 1997, Congress passed legislation limiting secret service protection to no more than 10 years from the date a president leaves office.[101] On January 10, 2013, President Obama signed legislation reinstating lifetime secret service protection for him, George W. Bush, and all subsequent presidents.[102] A spouse who remarries is no longer eligible for secret service protection.[101]

text: Some presidents have had significant careers after leaving office. Prominent examples include William Howard Taft's tenure as Chief Justice of the United States and Herbert Hoover's work on government reorganization after World War II. Grover Cleveland, whose bid for reelection failed in 1888, was elected president again four years later in 1892. Two former presidents served in Congress after leaving the White House: John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, serving there for seventeen years, and Andrew Johnson returned to the Senate in 1875. John Tyler served in the provisional Congress of the Confederate States during the Civil War and was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives, but died before that body first met.

text: Presidents may use their predecessors as emissaries to deliver private messages to other nations or as official representatives of the United States to state funerals and other important foreign events.[103][104] Richard Nixon made multiple foreign trips to countries including China and Russia and was lauded as an elder statesman.[105] Jimmy Carter has become a global human rights campaigner, international arbiter, and election monitor, as well as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Bill Clinton has also worked as an informal ambassador, most recently in the negotiations that led to the release of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, from North Korea. Clinton has also been active politically since his presidential term ended, working with his wife Hillary on her 2008 and 2016 presidential bids and President Obama on his 2012 reelection campaign.

text:
The five living former presidents

Jimmy Carter (age 93)
since 1981

George H. W. Bush (age 93)
since 1993

Bill Clinton (age 71)
since 2001

George W. Bush (age 71)
since 2009

Barack Obama (age 56)
since 2017

text: Presidential libraries

text: Every president since Herbert Hoover has created a repository known as a presidential library for preserving and making available his papers, records, and other documents and materials. Completed libraries are deeded to and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); the initial funding for building and equipping each library must come from private, non-federal sources.[106] There are currently thirteen presidential libraries in the NARA system. There are also presidential libraries maintained by state governments and private foundations and Universities of Higher Education, such as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by the State of Illinois, the George W. Bush Presidential library and Museum, which is run by Southern Methodist University, the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by Texas A&M University, and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by the University of Texas at Austin.

text: A number of presidents have lived for many years after leaving office, and several of them have personally overseen the building and opening of their own presidential libraries. Some have even made arrangements for their own burial at the site. Several presidential libraries contain the graves of the president they document, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. These gravesites are open to the general public.

text: Timeline of presidents


document_title: Orders, decorations, and medals of Nigeria

question_text: what is the meaning of gcfr in nigeria

question_tokens: what is the meaning of gcfr in nigeria

text: Nigerian National Honours are a set of orders and decorations conferred upon Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. They were instituted by the National Honors Act No. 5 of 1964, during the First Nigerian Republic, to honour Nigerians who have rendered service to the benefit of the nation.

text: Honours[edit]

text: The Nigerian National Honours, in descending order of importance, are:

text:
Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR)
Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON)
Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR)
Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON)
Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR)
Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR)
Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)

text: The GCFR and GCON are customarily respectively bestowed on former occupants of the office of President of Nigeria and Vice President of Nigeria including former military heads of state of Nigeria and Chiefs of General Staff. The GCON is also customarily bestowed on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Nigerian Senate during their first year in office, while the CON is customarily bestowed on Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria


document_title: List of Sister Wives episodes

question_text: what is the latest episode of sister wives

text: List of Sister Wives episodes

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Average Viewership
(in millions)
Originally aired

Season premiere
Season finale

1
9
2.14
September 26, 2010
November 21, 2010

2
23
1.95
March 13, 2011
November 27, 2011

3
21
2.01
May 13, 2012
December 30, 2012

4
20
2.07
July 21, 2013
February 23, 2014

5
20
TBD
June 8, 2014
March 1, 2015

6
22
TBD
September 13, 2015
November 22, 2015

7
TBA
TBD
November 27, 2016
TBA

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Season 1 (2010)[edit]

text:
No. in
season
No. in
series
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(million)

1
1
"Meet Kody & the Wives"
September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26)
2.26[15]

The one-hour premiere episode introduces viewers to Kody Brown, his three wives Meri, Janelle and Christine, and their twelve children. They live in a ranch-style home that, although interconnected, is subdivided into three separate apartments that give each wife her own bedroom, kitchen and living space.[8][9] Eventually, Kody and his wives tell the children he is courting a fourth wife, Robyn Sullivan, who herself already has three children.[9][10] Meanwhile, the wives explain they do not plan to force their children into polygamist lifestyles or arrange their marriages for them, but rather will encourage them to make their own choices.[8][11] The children attend a polygamist cooperative school, while Kody and Janelle both work full-time as Meri pursues a long-delayed college degree.[8] The family discusses their strong spiritual faith, and the episode includes both blessings at dinner and an evening family prayer.[12] The episode also highlights the fact that Brown operates on a rotating schedule that dictates which wife he will spend the night with. Although Brown has sex with all three of his wives, they make clear the women never sleep with each other, a concept they consider immoral.[13] The episode ends with Kody going on a date with Robyn.[14]

2
2
"Courting a Fourth Wife"
October 3, 2010 (2010-10-03)
1.88[17]

This episode focuses on Kody's dating of Robyn Sullivan, marking the first time he has courted a woman since his third marriage 16 years earlier. Robyn lives five hours away from his home, so Kody must travel far and spend a great amount of time away from the rest of his family to date her. Robyn, who has three children under the age of 10, explains that although she grew up in a polygamist family, she has previously kept the lifestyle a secret until participating on Sister Wives. Meri, who had previously encouraged Kody to marry Janelle and Christine, explains that she met Robyn and encouraged Kody to court her also. Nevertheless, the prospect of a fourth wife requires some adjustment for the three wives, who fear being replaced as companions, as well as for their children, who have grown up with three mothers their entire lives.[16]

3
3
"Wives on the Move"
October 3, 2010 (2010-10-03)
2.13[17]

Robyn is moving into a new house about a half-mile from the Kody Brown home. Since Kody and Robyn are only engaged, she cannot yet live in the house with the rest of his family. Although ultimately supportive of the idea of the new union, Meri, Janelle and Christine continue to experience conflicted feelings about the change it will bring to the family. Meri experiences an emotional breakdown and talks about the difficulties of being in a polygamist family, and Christine grows particularly upset when she learns Kody sealed his engagement to Robyn with a kiss, since he never kissed the other wives until they were married. Robyn feels remorse for hurting the feelings of the other wives, but expresses happiness and excitement toward joining the family. The whole family helps Robyn load her belongings into the moving truck and bring them to her new home.[16]

4
4
"A Wife in Labor"
October 10, 2010 (2010-10-10)
1.89[20]

Kody escorts 3rd wife Christine to the hospital for a checkup, since she's slightly past her due date, and they decide to induce labor that day. The hospital staff are very accepting of polygamists and talk casually to Kody and Christine about their family. Although polygamists often give birth at home in the family unit, Christine suffered a miscarriage the previous year and does not want to risk it again.[18] Robyn takes care of Christine's younger children while she is at the hospital. At one point, Kody stops home and, before returning to the hospital, tries to kiss Robyn off-camera; when the cameras nevertheless capture the moment, Kody admits he did not want to be seen kissing his girlfriend while his wife was in labor. 14-year-old Aspyn, Christine's oldest biological daughter, decides to go with Kody to the hospital to watch the labor.[19] Christine gives birth to daughter Truely after a relatively easy labor, and the entire family visits the hospital to see Christine and meet Truely.[18]

5
5
"1st Wife's 20th Anniversary"
October 10, 2010 (2010-10-10)
2.05[20]

Meri's daughter Mariah tells Kody she wants to study pre-med at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; Kody is very proud, but fears prejudices against her polygamist family will prevent her from getting in. Later, Kody and Meri go to Mexico to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Meri discusses her sadness about her infertility problems and the jealousy that has arisen from Kody's recent courtship and engagement to Robyn. When Meri asks how Kody would feel if she had a relationship with another man, he says he finds the idea repulsive, although he admits as a polygamist that his reaction sounds hypocritical. Kody apologizes for his past impatience with Meri's jealousy issues and expresses his love and devotion to her. Later, he proposes having another child through in vitro fertilisation, but she turns down the idea as she is only interested in natural childbirth.[18]

6
6
"A Fourth Wife to Be"
October 17, 2010 (2010-10-17)
2.67[23]

As Robyn's wedding to Kody approaches, he and the other sister wives clash over whether Robyn is entitled to as much time with Kody as they are: Robyn and Janelle feel as fiancee, she is entitled to equal time with Kody, while Meri and Christine feel she is not until they are married. Despite continued tension over the changes in the family due to the addition of Robyn, the four women mostly get along well. Wanting the others to feel involved, Robyn invites them along to look at dresses, although she doesn't say which dress she's choosing: it's a surprise. Kody joins the women to look at wedding cakes and possible reception locations. During a later interview for the show, Kody reveals he chose the wedding dress himself, which prompts Christine to walk away mid-interview. When she returns, the three wives say they felt betrayed by Kody's actions, but he apologizes and the five reconcile.[21][22]

7
7
"Four Wives and Counting..."
October 17, 2010 (2010-10-17)
2.74[23]

The first-season finale episode features the wedding of Kody and Robyn. As the day begins, the family deals with various stresses leading up to the wedding, including the wedding invitations having the wrong address for the ceremony. Robyn struggles to prepare herself while maintaining her hyper and mischievous children. For religious reasons, the cameras are not permitted at the ceremony and it was not televised. During an outdoors reception, Meri, Janelle and Christine present Robyn with a Claddagh ring to welcome her into the family. As the other wives reflect on their own wedding ceremonies, Janelle, who did not originally come from a polygamist family, reveals she lost most of her family and friends when she married Kody because they were disgusted that she decided to enter into polygamy. As Kody and Robyn prepare to leave for their honeymoon, all four sister wives reflect on how happy they are and how much they look forward to the future.[21][22]

8
8
"Sister Wives Special"
October 31, 2010 (2010-10-31)
1.82[24]

An hour-long interview hosted by NBC correspondent Natalie Morales, who interviews the Brown family about their polygamist lifestyle, new celebrity status and the criminal investigation against them.[2]

9
9
"Sister Wives Honeymoon Special"
November 21, 2010 (2010-11-21)
1.82[28]

This episode features Kody and Robyn's 11-day honeymoon in San Diego. The other three wives continue trying to cope with the addition of a fourth wife, and some feel 11 days was far too long for Kody to be away from the family.[3][25] Kody explains the 10-month courtship with Robyn is long for polygamists, for whom courtships usually last up to 90 days, but they feel the extra time has made their relationship stronger. During a trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, they point out that many of the animals seem to have polygamist mating relationships.[26] Meanwhile, Meri, Janelle and Christine take the family on a camping trip while Kody and Robyn are away. Robyn insists that Kody frequently call his wives to ensure they remain emotionally connected to him while he is away.[27] Janelle admits she ignored Kody's calls for the first few days due to her angry feelings about the honeymoon. This special marked the first episode with Robyn featured in the opening credits along with the other wives, and the show's logo was changed to have four gold female rings dangling from a male ring, rather than the original three.[26]

text: Season 2 (2011)[edit]

text:
No. in
season
No. in
series
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(million)

1
10
"Browns Out of Hiding"
March 13, 2011 (2011-03-13)
2.23[29]

After years of hiding their lifestyle, Kody and his four wives are off to New York to appear on national television for the first time as open polygamists. Meanwhile back home, the Brown family kids embark on their first day of public school.

2
11
"Free Range Browns"
March 20, 2011 (2011-03-20)
1.77[30]

The Browns travel to Wyoming to visit Kody's family ranch in hopes of finding some tranquility on the wake of the police investigation involving the family. Also, find out about Kody's family history.

3
12
"The Price of Polygamy"
March 27, 2011 (2011-03-27)
1.74[31]

Kody and Janelle spend some one-on-one time during a private camping trip that results in a discussion about family finances. Meanwhile, back at home, Robyn begins to worry about being a burden on the family financially.

4
13
"Carving into Polygamy"
April 3, 2011 (2011-04-03)
1.44[32]

The Brown family celebrates Halloween, which includes having to come up with 21 different costume ideas and carving 24 pumpkins. Later on, 16 of the Browns hit the neighborhood to trick-or-treat.

5
14
"Wife #3 Hits Sin City"
April 10, 2011 (2011-04-10)
1.41[33]

Christine and her children, along with Kody, head to their favorite vacation destination, Las Vegas. Back at home, Meri takes the rest of the family out for a night of bowling.

6
15
"Polygamist Party"
April 17, 2011 (2011-04-17)
1.39[34]

The wives invite their monogamous friends over for dinner. Also, Meri goes to the doctor for a cancer screening and she finds out that she has a benign polyp in her colon, unlike her deceased sister.

7
16
"The Brown Family Decision"
May 8, 2011 (2011-05-08)
1.52[35]

The Browns celebrate Christmas by heading to a snowbound cabin in the mountains, escaping the pressure of the ongoing police investigation at home. Later, the family make the big announcement that they're moving to Las Vegas.

8
17
"Sister Wives in Holiday Crisis"
May 8, 2011 (2011-05-08)
1.59[35]

The wives have trouble accepting that this will be their last Christmas in Utah and the mounting tension from the ongoing police investigation leads to massive changes in the family dynamic.

9
18
"No Place For Home"
May 15, 2011 (2011-05-15)
1.52[36]

Kody, Meri, and Robyn search for a new house in Las Vegas, but after arriving, they quickly learn that there are no polygamist houses available. Back at home in Utah, the rest of the family plans a surprise birthday party for Meri.

10
19
"Gambling on the Future"
May 22, 2011 (2011-05-22)
1.83[37]

Kody and the wives prepare for the move by telling the younger children and packing up their homes. Later, plans turn to panic when the media gets wind of the news.

11
20
"Sister Wives in the City of Sin"
June 5, 2011 (2011-06-05)
2.76[38]

The Browns arrive in Las Vegas and search for a home where they'll be able to rebuild their lives. Later, Robyn announces to the public that she is pregnant.

12
21
"The Announcement"
September 25, 2011 (2011-09-25)
1.77[39]

Robyn finally announces her new pregnancy to the rest of the family, starting with Meri. And as the Browns continue to try to adjust to their new lives in Las Vegas, the older teens discontent over their new life starts to bubble to the surface.

13
22
"Teen Sex Talk"
October 2, 2011 (2011-10-02)
2.40[40]

Kody, Christine, and Janelle experiment with working in real estate. Also, the teens are beginning to go out and make new friends in Las Vegas.

14
23
"4 Houses, 4 Relationships"
October 2, 2011 (2011-10-02)
2.52[40]

Robyn has a pregnancy scare and rushes to her midwife to find out what's wrong. Meanwhile, the other wives decide to make over one room in each of their houses.

15
24
"The 4 Lives of Kody Brown"
October 9, 2011 (2011-10-09)
2.37[41]

Kody is followed for four days as he moves each day to the house of a different wife, and he opens up about how his life has changed since the move to Las Vegas. Also, the gender of Robyn and Kody's baby is revealed.

16
25
"Defending Polygamy"
October 16, 2011 (2011-10-16)
2.32[42]

Kody and his wives return to his hometown for the first time as open polygamists, and he's not sure how his childhood friends will receive them. Also, Robyn and Kody announce the name of their baby.

17
26
"The Wives Diet Woes"
October 23, 2011 (2011-10-23)
2.02[43]

The wives open up about their attempts to lose weight and then they head to the gym for a body-fat analysis.

18
27
"July 4th Rebellion"
October 30, 2011 (2011-10-30)
2.11[44]

The Brown family plan to have some family fun during camping on the Fourth of July, but the teens have other ideas. Also, Christine's daughter, Ysabel, and Robyn's daughter, Breanna, move into Meri's house temporarily.

19
28
"Another Wife"
November 6, 2011 (2011-11-06)
1.76[45]

The Browns respond to questions surrounding courting another wife and dealing with jealousy. Also, a couple from Utah visit.

20
29
"College-Bound Browns"
November 13, 2011 (2011-11-13)
2.20[46]

The Brown family is invited to Boston by a religious professor to talk to her students.

21
30
"Sister Wives on the Strip"
November 20, 2011 (2011-11-20)
1.87[47]

The sister wives get makeovers and then head to the strip for a night on the town while Kody stays home and watches all the kids. How will they react when they come face- to-face with all the "adult" entertainment Vegas has to offer?

22
31
"Kody Climbs Into the Ring"
November 20, 2011 (2011-11-20)
2.00[47]

Kody heads for the Las Vegas strip for a guys' night out on the town, testing his wrestling skills against a mixed martial arts fighter and answering his friends' questions about his lifestyle. Meanwhile, the wives help set up Robyn's new nursery.

23
32
"Sisters' Special Delivery"
November 27, 2011 (2011-11-27)
2.32[48]

The Sister Wives are buzzing with excitement as Robyn's first contractions finally begin. But not everyone is happy about it. The emotion builds as each of the Browns faces their true feelings about Robyn's family becoming their own. Robyn wonders if Meri would like her to be the surrogate for Meri and Kody's baby if they ever want any more children.

text: Season 3 (2012)[edit]

text:
No. in
season
No. in
series
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(million)

1
33
"Sister Wives Separated"
May 13, 2012 (2012-05-13)
2.03[49]

It's the Browns' first Christmas in Vegas and the wives are separated in four rental homes. Desperate to get the family back together, Kody has his hands full chopping down a Christmas tree and finding the home that will bring them all together again.

2
34
"Polygamist Date Nights"
May 20, 2012 (2012-05-20)
1.85[50]

Date Night is important in a plural marriage and Kody needs to bring his A-game to keep his wives happy. From hitting the slopes to releasing pent up aggression shooting paintballs, all four wives are expecting Kody to bring the magic and some romance.

3
35
"Brutal Honesty"
May 27, 2012 (2012-05-27)
1.37[51]

As the Sister Wives prepare for Kody's birthday, Christine tries to reconcile with Robyn by opening up about the problems she's had since Robyn joined the family.

4
36
"You Asked, Browns Answers"
May 27, 2012 (2012-05-27)
1.40[51]

Everyone has questions about Polygamy. Today the Browns answer the toughest questions submitted by viewers. From Contraception and gay children to Kody's favorite and least favorite traits of each wife, nothing is held back.

5
37
"Infertility & Nesting"
June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03)
1.98[52]

The Browns apply for separate mortgages as they dream of getting their family into adjacent homes. Meanwhile, Janelle is still determined to open a gym. Later, Meri discloses the details of her past fertility problems.

6
38
"4 Wives, 4 Valentines"
June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03)
2.04[52]

This year, Kody takes his young daughters to a daddy-daughter Valentine's dance at their school.

7
39
"Brown Boys Do Vegas"
June 10, 2012 (2012-06-10)
1.65[53]

Kody ditches his four wives for his three brothers as they hit up the city of sin. They're cruising on motorcycles, hanging out at a biker bar, and shooting guns.

8
40
"No Place Like Home"
June 10, 2012 (2012-06-10)
1.66[53]

Logan, Mariah, Madison, and Hunter head back to Utah to visit their family and friends, but more importantly, to visit the happy home they left behind.

9
41
"Meri's Baby Decision"
June 17, 2012 (2012-06-17)
1.92[54]

Kody makes good on his promise to Meri escaping to Mexico for a romantic getaway. They climb ancient temples and swim with dolphins But despite all the romance, the conversation turns serious when Kody asks Meri about Robyn's offer of surrogacy.

10
42
"Brown Family Confessions"
June 17, 2012 (2012-06-17)
1.81[54]

The Browns invite viewers into their home to answer more in depth questions about their plural marriage lifestyle. But this time, they invite their teenagers to join the discussion.

11
43
"Leaving the Nest"
June 24, 2012 (2012-06-24)
2.21[55]

As high school graduation nears, Logan finally decides on which college he will attend. Meanwhile, Kody and the wives are on the verge of fulfilling their dream of bringing the family back together.

12
44
"Sister Wives Tell All"
June 24, 2012 (2012-06-24)
2.12[55]

Kody and the Wives speak to NBC News' Natalie Morales about polygamy, life in Las Vegas, and their new book detailing life in the Brown family before the cameras started rolling. In addition, Natalie also sits down with five of the Brown's oldest kids.

13
45
"Polygamist Debt Threat"
November 18, 2012 (2012-11-18)
2.78[56]

The Browns try to solidify their family bonds by investing in property where they can build four homes on one cul-de-sac.

14
46
"Kody Begs for an Answer"
November 25, 2012 (2012-11-25)
2.29[57]

Kody and the wives attend parent-teacher conferences. Logan graduates from high school. Meri feels pressured to have another child. The wives have some conflict over the size of Meri's house.

15
47
"More Sister Wives"
December 2, 2012 (2012-12-02)
2.44[58]

The Browns plan a vacation with their polygamist friends, the Darger family, as they head to the beach for some polygamist fun in the sun. For the first time we'll meet another polygamist family and discover how they're the same, or different from the Browns.

16
48
"Polygamist Cults"
December 9, 2012 (2012-12-09)
2.08[59]

The dark side of polygamy is uncovered when the Brown teenagers volunteer for an organization that helps people escape from abusive polygamist families.

17
49
"Mourning the Loss"
December 16, 2012 (2012-12-16)
1.75[60]

Tensions rise as the Sister Wives fight for the bonus features they want for each house. Later, the Brown family digs deep when the family pet is ailing. A compromise leaves them all in tears.

18
50
"Confronting Failure"
December 16, 2012 (2012-12-16)
1.98[60]

With the Sister Wives living separately for over a year now, the Brown family structure is falling apart. After stressing out over finances, the wives try hard to start a web business, and Christine makes another attempt to pass her real estate exam.

19
51
"Polygamist Pilgrimage Into the Past"
December 23, 2012 (2012-12-23)
1.86[61]

The wives plan a dream pilgrimage across country to Nauvoo, Illinois, the birthplace of American polygamy. But the three-day road trip turns into much more than they bargained for as tempers start to flare and relationships get tested.

20
52
"Hard to Say Goodbye"
December 30, 2012 (2012-12-30)
2.64[62]

As the Browns prepare a proper send-off for Logan's graduation, Kody and the wives push hard to get moved into their new homes before Christmas.

21
53
"Secrets Revealed"
December 30, 2012 (2012-12-30)
2.42[62]

The Brown family sits down with NBC's Tamron Hall to look back at the season of Sister Wives and dig deeper into the ups and downs of life as a polygamist family separated into four different homes.

text: Season 4 (2013-14)[edit]

text:
No. in
season
No. in
series
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(million)

1
54
"Picking Up the Pieces"
July 21, 2013 (2013-07-21)
2.57[63]

In the Season 4 premiere, the Browns are finally able to see their four new homes that are close to each other. The wives' tempers are raised when issues arise within the family business. Robyn talks to Meri regarding her surrogacy offer.

2
55
"Four Lives of Kody's Wives"
July 28, 2013 (2013-07-28)
1.97[64]

Since leaving Utah, the wives have now settled into four separate lives. Janelle continues her weight-loss battle. Robyn fights to keep the family business afloat. Meri works hard to repair her relationship with Mariah and Christine rethinks her career.

3
56
"Big Boy Panties"
August 4, 2013 (2013-08-04)
1.93[65]

Focused on their goal of being in all four houses by Christmas, problems in the building process threaten to ruin the Brown's dream. Aspyn and Mariah discuss college plans. One wife decides to possibly jump ship on the family business.

4
57
"Odd Wife Out"
August 11, 2013 (2013-08-11)
2.13[66]

5
58
"Christmas Surprise"
August 18, 2013 (2013-08-18)
2.14[67]

6
59
"Robyn's Secret"
August 25, 2013 (2013-08-25)
2.34[68]

7
60
"Polygamy Questions Answered"
September 1, 2013 (2013-09-01)
1.75[69]

8
61
"A Wife Decides"
September 8, 2013 (2013-09-08)
2.14[70]

9
62
"Sister Wives On the Ropes"
September 15, 2013 (2013-09-15)
2.37[71]

10
63
"Polygamist Marriage Therapy"
September 22, 2013 (2013-09-22)
2.01[72]

11
64
"Sister Wives Tell All"
September 22, 2013 (2013-09-22)
1.90[72]

12
65
"Mother-in-Law Invasion"
December 29, 2013 (2013-12-29)
2.41[73]

13
66
"Boys Night Out"
January 5, 2014 (2014-01-05)
2.04[74]

14
67
"Polygamist Flash Mob"
January 12, 2014 (2014-01-12)
2.00[75]

15
68
"While the Wives Are Away..."
January 19, 2014 (2014-01-19)
1.44[76]

16
69
"Browns in Crisis"
January 26, 2014 (2014-01-26)
2.41[77]

17
70
"Tragedy in the Family"
February 9, 2014 (2014-02-09)
1.94[78]

18
71
"Celebration Countdown"
February 16, 2014 (2014-02-16)
1.82[79]

19
72
"The Commitment Celebration"
February 23, 2014 (2014-02-23)
2.23[80]

20
73
"Sister Wives Tell All 2"
February 23, 2014 (2014-02-23)
1.91[80]

text: Season 5 (2014)[edit]

text:
No. in
season
No. in
series
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(million)

1
74
"Meri Drops a Bomb"
June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08)
1.61[81]

The Brown's receive a visit from an investor for their jewelry line; Christine's daughter brings home a boyfriend where Kody and Christine sit them down and discuss the rules of their relationship; The family celebrates Dayton and Meri's birthday. Kody and Jenelle celebrate their wedding anniversary. Robyn reveals that she needs help on the business before they even think about having another baby. Also Meri reveals that she's going back to school. Kody takes Meri out for her birthday

2
75
"Polygamists in a Shark Tank"
June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15)
1.56[82]

3
76
"The Big Decision"
June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22)
1.48[83]

4
77
"Vegas Surprise"
June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22)
1.24[84]

5
78
"Growing up Polygamist"
June 29, 2014 (2014-06-29)
1.25[85]

6
79
"Four Wives in Two RVs"
July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06)
1.39[86]

7
80
"From Monogamy to Polygamy"
July 13, 2014 (2014-07-13)
1.64[87]

8
81
"Every Brown Revealed"
July 20, 2014 (2014-07-20)
1.61[88]

9
82
"Mid-Season Tell All"[89]
July 27, 2014 (2014-07-27)
N/A

10
83
"Growing Up & Moving Out"
January 4, 2015 (2015-01-04)
N/A

11
84
"A family meltdown"
January 11, 2015 (2015-01-11)
N/A

12
85
"Courting another wife"
January 18, 2015 (2015-01-18)
N/A

13
86
"One more woman in Kody's life"
January 25, 2015 (2015-01-25)
N/A

14
89
"Anthropologists move in"
February 8, 2015 (2015-02-08)
N/A

15
88
"Robyn: Behind the scenes"
February 8, 2015 (2015-02-08)
N/A

16
89
"First a verdict, then a lawyer"
February 15, 2015 (2015-02-15)
N/A

17
90
"Meri: Behind the scenes"
February 15, 2015 (2015-02-15)
N/A

18
91
"Divorce"
March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01)
N/A

Meri divorces Kody so that he can marry Robyn so he can adopt Robyn's oldest three children.

19
92
"Tell all"
March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01)
N/A

text: Season 6 (2015)[edit]

text:
No. in
season
No. in
series
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(million)

1
93
"A Secret Marriage"
September 13, 2015 (2015-09-13)
1.53[90]

2
94
"Wrestling with Adoption"
September 20, 2015 (2015-09-20)
1.45[91]

3
95
"All About Janelle"
September 20, 2015 (2015-09-20)
1.13[91]

4
96
"Marriage Counseling Texas Style"
September 27, 2015 (2015-09-27)
1.33[92]

5
97
"All About Christine"
September 27, 2015 (2015-09-27)
1.00[92]

6
98
"Just Trying to Stay Afloat"
October 4, 2015 (2015-10-04)
1.31[93]

7
99
"More Girls Than Kody Can Handle?"
October 11, 2015 (2015-10-11)
1.32[94]

8
100
"Robyn's Big Announcement"
October 18, 2015 (2015-10-18)
1.40[95]

9
101
"A Judge Decides"
October 25, 2015 (2015-10-25)
1.46[96]

10
102
"Chaos in the Cul-de-Sac"
November 1, 2015 (2015-11-01)
1.41[97]

11
103
"A Boy or A Girl?"
November 8, 2015 (2015-11-08)
1.62[98]

12
104
"Meri Catfished"
November 15, 2015 (2015-11-15)
2.25[99]

13
105
"Tell All"
November 22, 2015 (2015-11-22)
2.11[100]

The Brown family looks back on season 6. Kody and Christine talk about their wedding anniversary, Meri explains her internet affair and how she was trying to protect the family and Robyn talks about the announcement of the baby. All the wives talk about dealing with jealousy.

14
106
"Catfishing Fallout"
May 8, 2016 (2016-05-08)
1.56[101]

15
107
"Confessions and Polygamy Perks"
May 15, 2016 (2016-05-15)
1.44[102]

16
108
"Thanksgiving: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly"
May 22, 2016 (2016-05-22)
1.23[103]

17
109
"Unforgiven"
May 29, 2016 (2016-05-29)
TBA

18
110
"Baby Sister is Born"
June 5, 2016 (2016-06-05)
TBA

Robyn gives birth to the newest member of the Brown family: Ariella Mae. Kody and the wives have decided on the location of this year's spring break trip, and announce it to the rest of the family.

19
111
"Meri Makes Amends"
June 12, 2016 (2016-06-12)
TBA

Meri gives Kody his late birthday present, which is highly appreciated from her sister wives. Meri and Janelle talk to their therapist Nancy about the Thanksgiving project and how they both feel about the progress in their relationship. The whole Brown family, including Christine's mother, Robyn's cousin, Caleb and Michelle, travel to Hawaii. Maddie takes her fiancé Caleb, and Logan his girlfriend Michelle, on a double date.

20
112
"Hawaiian Vacation Erupts"
June 19, 2016 (2016-06-19)
TBA

21
113
"Kody Behind the Scenes"
June 26, 2016 (2016-06-26)
TBA

22
114
"Tell All"
July 3, 2016 (2016-07-03)
TBA