List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections
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An election for speaker of the United States House of Representatives is held when the House first convenes after a general election for its two-year term, or when a sitting speaker dies, resigns, or is removed from the position. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House, and is simultaneously the body's presiding officer, the de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head.
A speaker election is generally held at least every two years; the House has elected a Speaker 129 times since the office was created in 1789. Traditionally, each political party's caucus/conference selects a candidate for speaker from among its senior leaders prior to the vote, and the majority party's nominee is elected. Prior to 1839, the House elected its speaker by paper ballot, but since, on all but three occasions, has done so by roll call vote. A majority of votes cast (as opposed to a majority of the full membership of the House) is necessary to elect a speaker. By House precedents, votes of present are not to be included in the official vote total, only votes cast for a person by name are; even so, they have been counted on several occasions.
If no candidate receives a majority vote, then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected. Multiple rounds of voting have been necessary 16 times since 1789, almost all before the American Civil War. In the 20th century only one election went to multiple ballots (in 1923).
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