The President & Vice-President are elected by the ballots cast by citizens called electors.
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The 12th amendment to the Constitution provides for the president and vice-president to be elected in separate ballots. Prior to this amendment the person who finished second in the balloting for president was elected vice-president.
A president is elected by the electoral college (which is chosen by the votes of citizens). If no one candidate receives more than half of the votes, as can happen if there are more than two candidates, the House of Representatives chooses the President. The related link give more details.
The president is the highest elected official in our government. Currently the highest elected president is Barack Obama. He is the first black elected president in the United States.
The newly elected French President is Francois Hollande
The constitution calls for the President to elected by electors from the states. It allows the state legislatures to decide how to choose its electors. Probably most of the framers expected the legislatures to elect the electors rather than holding a popular election to choose them.