“Originally the president was the person with the most votes. VP was with the second highest....Can’t remember when that changed, but it was fairly early.....”
The 12th Amendment ratified September 25, 1804.
This removed the flaw in the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 3) where Jefferson (Presidential candidate) and Burr (VP candidate) both tied with the same number of votes. It took the House of Representatives 35 votes to elect Jefferson.
The 12th Amendment provides for the separate election of POTUS and VP.
Thanks.