THE “ELECTORAL COLLEGE” PROCESS

(Note: Regardless of all the big-tech/big-media/etc., spin to the contrary, . . . there is NOT a “President-elect”/“Vice President-elect” until the U.S. Congress, in joint session, meets on 01/06/2021, and thereon/therein properly processes each state’s Electoral College votes.)

WHAT IS THE PROCESS? The Electoral College process consists of selection of the electors; meeting of electors where they vote for President and Vice President; and counting of electoral votes by Congress. Therefore, the Electoral College is a “process,” not a place. The U.S. Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a “compromise” between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of “qualified citizens.”

HOW MANY ELECTORS ARE THERE? HOW ARE ELECTORS DISTRIBUTED AMONG STATES? The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Each State has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators. The District of Columbia is allocated 3 electors and treated like a State for purposes of the Electoral College under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution. For this reason, in the following part of this posting, the word “State” also refers to the District of Columbia and “Governor” to the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

HOW ARE ELECTORS CHOSEN? WHAT ARE ELECTORS QUALIFICATIONS? HOW DO ELECTORS DECIDE WHO TO VOTE FOR? Each candidate running for President in each State has his or her own group of electors (known as a slate). The slates are generally chosen by the candidate’s political party in each State, but State laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are.

11/03/2020: WHAT HAPPENS IN GENERAL ELECTION? WHY SHOULD WE VOTE? The general election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November (e.g., 11/03/2020). When we vote for a Presidential candidate we are actually voting for our candidate's preferred electors. Most States have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the Presidential candidate who wins the State's popular vote. However, Maine and Nebraska each have a variation of “proportional representation.”

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION? After the general election, each State Governor prepares a Certificate of Ascertainment listing the names of all the individuals on the slates for each candidate. The Certificate of Ascertainment also lists the number of votes each individual received and shows which individuals were appointed as the State's electors. Each State’s Certificate of Ascertainment is sent to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as part of the official records of the Presidential election.

12/14/2020: The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December after the general election (e.g., 12/14/2020). The electors meet in their respective States, where they cast their votes for President and Vice President on separate ballots. Each State’s electors’ votes are recorded on a Certificate of Vote, which is prepared at the meeting by the electors. Each State’s Certificate of Vote is sent to Congress, where the votes are counted, and to the NARA, as part of the official records of the Presidential election.

01/06/2021: Each State’s Electoral College votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on the 6th of January in the year following the meeting of the electors (e.g., 01/06/2021). The Vice President, as President of the Senate, is the presiding officer. Tellers open, present, and record the votes of the States in alphabetical order. The President of the Senate announces the results of each State’s vote and then calls for any objections. 

To be recognized, an objection must be submitted in writing and be signed by at least one member of the House and one Senator. If an objection is recognized, the House and Senate withdraw to their respective chambers to consider the merits of any objections, following the process set out in 3 U.S.C. §15. After all votes are recorded and counted, the President of Senate declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.

01/20/2021: The President-elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th in the year following the general election (e.g., 01/20/2021).


                                        ---William James Moore


Re: https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about