Electing a US President

You may think American citizens will vote for their favourite candidate for President on November 2, but they won?t. Instead, they will vote for electors who will make the official presidential choice in December.

You may think American citizens will vote for their favourite candidate for President on November 2, but they won’t. Instead, they will vote for electors who will make the official presidential choice in December.

2004 Road to the presidency

1. The political parties in each state pick a slate of people who support the party’s respective candidates.

2. On November 2, instead of choosing a president, voters select electors. A vote for a presidential candidate is actually a vote for the electors picked by that candidate’s party, though the electors are not listed on the ballot.

3. After the election, the names of the electoral groups and how many votes they received are listed on seven documents called Certificates of Ascertainment. The governor signs and seals the certificates.

4. One of the certificates and two copies are sent by registered mail to the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC, to be recorded and checked for accuracy.

5. The other six original certificates are given to the electors.

6. On December 13, the electors supporting the candidate who won their state’s popular vote meet and vote for president and vice-president. The US Constitution requires electors to vote for at least one person who is not from that elector’s home state. The idea is to keep the electors from choosing a
president and vice-president originating from the same state.

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7. The elector’s votes are recorded on six duplicate Certificates of Vote. Each certificate is attached to one of the six Certificates of Ascertainment provided by the governor.

8. The state sends two packets by registered mail to the National Archives and Records Administration to be recorded and looked over for accuracy.

9. The state sends two packets to its secretary of state. One is kept as a security measure, and the other is made available for public viewing.

10. One goes to the chief judge of the federal district court as a security measure.

11. One goes by registered mail to the president of the US Senate, in this case vice-president Dick Cheney. If the Senate president doesn’t receive the packet by January 6, he can request a copy from the secretary of state or the federal
district judge covering that district.

12. On Jan. 6, the electoral votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are counted before a joint session of Congress with the vice-president acting as the presiding officer.

13. The candidate receiving a majority of votes (at least 270 out of 538) wins the presidency. And since the vice-presidential candidates are voted for on separate electoral ballots, they need at least 270 votes to take office.

14. If no candidate receives the needed 270 votes or more, the US House of Representatives chooses from the three highest electoral vote getters with all representatives from each state combining to cast one vote.

15. If no vice-presidential candidate receives at least 270 votes, the US Senate chooses from the top two candidates with senators voting as individuals.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 considered the election of presidents by direct popular vote but feared that without sufficient information from outside of the voters’ home areas, people would naturally vote for a ‘‘favourite son’’ from their region. At worst, no one would receive a popular majority. At best, the president would be chosen by the largest, most populous states.
The convention also rejected a proposal that Congress elect the chief executive.

To solve the problem, the convention agreed on a method of indirect popular election, which became the Electoral College.

With the exception of an amendment to accommodate emerging political parties in 1804, the workings of the Electoral College remain the same as they were when they were first written.

Electoral quirks

In most elections, the candidate who wins the highest number of a state’s popular votes receives all the state’s electoral votes.

In some elections, Electoral College members from the same state have voted for different candidates. Electors are not bound by the Constitution to vote in accordance with the popular vote. Since 1804, Electoral College members in various states have split their votes between candidates 34 times.

The 2000 election

The 2000 presidential election was one of the tightest races in US history. Vice-president Al Gore won the popular vote over George W. Bush, but a controversy developed over the electoral votes. Official totals showed Bush winning Florida’s 25 votes, but Democrats disputed the accuracy of state’s balloting. Gore called for a recount, but the Supreme Court ruled against him. The Florida win gave Bush 271 electoral votes over Gore’s 266, and Bush declared victory — 36 days after Election Day.