Guess what? Even AFTER you vote in November, your vote may still not count!
What is the Electoral College?
From the public archives:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html#qualifications
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html#qualifications
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The
founding fathers established it in the Constitution
as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and
election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
The Electoral College process consists of the selection
of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President
and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority
of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state’s
entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its
Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives
plus two for your Senators. Read more about the
allocation of electoral votes.
Under the 23rd
Amendment of the Constitution, the District of Columbia is allocated 3
electors and treated like a state for purposes of the Electoral College. For
this reason, in the following discussion, the word “state” also refers to the
District of Columbia.
Each candidate running for President in your state has his
or her own group of electors. The electors are generally chosen by the
candidate’s political party, but state laws vary on how
the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are. Read more
about the qualifications
of the Electors and restrictions
on who the Electors may vote for.
The presidential election is held every four years on the
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. You help choose your state’s
electors when you vote for President because when you vote for your candidate
you are actually voting for your candidate’s electors.
Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all
electors to the winning presidential candidate. However, Maine and Nebraska
each have a variation of “proportional representation.” Read more about the
allocation of Electors among the states and try to predict
the outcome of the Electoral College vote.
After the presidential election, your governor prepares a
“Certificate of Ascertainment” listing all of the candidates who ran for
President in your state along with the names of their respective electors. The
Certificate of Ascertainment also declares the winning presidential candidate
in your state and shows which electors will represent your state at the meeting
of the electors in December of the election year. Your stateĆ’s Certificates of
Ascertainments are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of
the official records of the presidential election. See the key
dates for the 2016 election and information about the
roles and responsibilities of state officials, the
Office of the Federal Register and the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), and the Congress
in the Electoral College process.
The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday
after the second Wednesday in December after the presidential election. The
electors meet in their respective states, where they cast their votes for
President and Vice President on separate ballots. Your state’s electors’ votes
are recorded on a “Certificate of Vote,” which is prepared at the meeting by
the electors. Your state’s Certificates of Votes are sent to the Congress and
the National Archives as part of the official records of the presidential
election. See the key
dates for the 2016 election and information about the
roles and responsibilities of state officials and the Congress
in the Electoral College process.
Each state’s electoral votes are counted in a joint session
of Congress on the 6th of January in the year following the meeting of the
electors. Members of the House and Senate meet in the House chamber to conduct
the official tally of electoral votes. See the key
dates for the 2016 election and information about the role and
responsibilities of Congress
in the Electoral College process.
The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides
over the count and announces the results of the vote. The President of the
Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and
Vice President of the United States.
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
Presidential election.
Learn about the Electors
- How
many electoral votes do States get?
- Who
selects the Electors?
- What
are the qualifications to be an Elector?
- Are
there restrictions on who the Electors can vote for?
Roles and Responsibilities in the
Electoral College Process
The Office
of the Federal Register coordinates the functions of the Electoral College
on behalf of the Archivist of the United States, the States, the Congress, and
the American People. The Office of the Federal Register operates as an
intermediary between the governors and secretaries of state of the States and
the Congress. It also acts as a trusted agent of the Congress in the sense that
it is responsible for reviewing the legal sufficiency of the certificates
before the House and Senate accept them as evidence of official State action.
Who are the Electors?
The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating
to the qualifications of Electors. Article
II, section 1, clause 2 provides that no Senator or Representative, or
Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be
appointed an Elector. As a historical matter, the 14th Amendment provides that
State officials who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies are disqualified from
serving as Electors. This prohibition relates to the post-Civil War era.
Each state’s Certificates of Ascertainment confirms the
names of its appointed electors. A state’s certification of its electors is
generally sufficient to establish the qualifications of electors.
The process for selecting Electors varies throughout the
United States. Generally, the political parties nominate Electors at their State
party conventions or by a vote of the party’s central committee in each State.
Each candidate will have their own unique slate of potential Electors as a
result of this part of the selection process.
Electors are often chosen to recognize service and dedication
to their political party. They may be State-elected officials, party leaders,
or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential
candidate.
On Election Day, the voters in each State choose the
Electors by casting votes for the presidential candidate of their choice. The
Electors’ names may or may not appear on the ballot below the name of the
candidates running for President, depending on the procedure in each State. The
winning candidate in each State—except in Nebraska and Maine, which have
proportional distribution of the Electors—is awarded all of the State’s
Electors. In Nebraska and Maine, the state winner receives two Electors and the
winner of each congressional district receives one Elector. This system permits
the Electors from Nebraska and Maine to be awarded to more than one candidate.
There is no Constitutional
provision or Federal
law that requires Electors to vote according to the results of the popular
vote in their States. Some States, however, require Electors to cast their
votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two
categories—Electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political
parties.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Constitution does
not require that Electors be completely free to act as they choose and
therefore, political parties may extract pledges from electors to vote for the
parties’ nominees. Some State laws provide that so-called "faithless
Electors"; may be subject to fines or may be disqualified for casting an
invalid vote and be replaced by a substitute elector. The Supreme Court has not
specifically ruled on the question of whether pledges and penalties for failure
to vote as pledged may be enforced under the Constitution.
No Elector has ever been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged.
Today, it is rare for Electors to disregard the popular vote
by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party’s candidate.
Electors generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to
recognize years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our history as a
nation, more than 99 percent of Electors have voted as pledged.
List of State Laws and Requirements
Regarding the Electors as of November 2000
Source: Congressional Research Service
The Office of the Federal Register presents this material
for informational purposes only, in response to numerous public inquiries. The
list has no legal significance. It is based on information compiled by the
Congressional Research Service. For more comprehensive information, refer to
the U.S.
Constitution and applicable Federal
laws.
Legal Requirements or Pledges
Electors in these States are bound by State Law or by pledges to cast their vote for a specific candidate:
Electors in these States are bound by State Law or by pledges to cast their vote for a specific candidate:
ALABAMA – Party Pledge / State Law – § 17-19-2
ALASKA – Party Pledge / State Law – § 15.30.040; 15.30.070
CALIFORNIA – State Law – § 6906
COLORADO – State Law – § 1-4-304
CONNECTICUT – State Law – § 9-175
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – DC Pledge / DC Law – § 1-1312(g)
FLORIDA – Party Pledge / State Law – § 103.021(1)
HAWAII – State Law – §§ 14-26 to 14-28
MAINE – State Law – § 805
MARYLAND – State Law – § 20-4
MASSACHUSETTS – Party Pledge / State Law – Ch. 53, § 8, Supp.
MICHIGAN – State Law – §168.47 (Violation cancels vote and Elector is replaced.)
MISSISSIPPI – Party Pledge / State Law – §23-15-785(3)
MONTANA – State Law – § 13-25-104
NEBRASKA – State Law – § 32-714
NEVADA – State Law – § 298.050
NEW MEXICO – State Law – § 1-15-5 to 1-15-9 (Violation is a fourth degree felony.)
NORTH CAROLINA – State Law – § 163-212 (Violation cancels vote; elector is replaced and is subject to $500 fine.)
OHIO – State Law – § 3505.40
OKLAHOMA – State Pledge / State Law – 26, §§ 10-102; 10-109 (Violation of oath is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $1000.)
OREGON – State Pledge / State Law – § 248.355
SOUTH CAROLINA – State Pledge / State Law – § 7-19-80 (Replacement and criminal sanctions for violation.)
VERMONT – State Law – title 17, § 2732
* VIRGINIA – State Law – § 24.1-162 (Virginia statute may be advisory – “Shall be expected” to vote for nominees.)
WASHINGTON – Party Pledge / State Law – §§ 29.71.020, 29.71.040, Supp. ($1000 fine.)
WISCONSIN – State Law – § 7.75
WYOMING – State Law – §§ 22-19-106; 22-19-108
ALASKA – Party Pledge / State Law – § 15.30.040; 15.30.070
CALIFORNIA – State Law – § 6906
COLORADO – State Law – § 1-4-304
CONNECTICUT – State Law – § 9-175
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – DC Pledge / DC Law – § 1-1312(g)
FLORIDA – Party Pledge / State Law – § 103.021(1)
HAWAII – State Law – §§ 14-26 to 14-28
MAINE – State Law – § 805
MARYLAND – State Law – § 20-4
MASSACHUSETTS – Party Pledge / State Law – Ch. 53, § 8, Supp.
MICHIGAN – State Law – §168.47 (Violation cancels vote and Elector is replaced.)
MISSISSIPPI – Party Pledge / State Law – §23-15-785(3)
MONTANA – State Law – § 13-25-104
NEBRASKA – State Law – § 32-714
NEVADA – State Law – § 298.050
NEW MEXICO – State Law – § 1-15-5 to 1-15-9 (Violation is a fourth degree felony.)
NORTH CAROLINA – State Law – § 163-212 (Violation cancels vote; elector is replaced and is subject to $500 fine.)
OHIO – State Law – § 3505.40
OKLAHOMA – State Pledge / State Law – 26, §§ 10-102; 10-109 (Violation of oath is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $1000.)
OREGON – State Pledge / State Law – § 248.355
SOUTH CAROLINA – State Pledge / State Law – § 7-19-80 (Replacement and criminal sanctions for violation.)
VERMONT – State Law – title 17, § 2732
* VIRGINIA – State Law – § 24.1-162 (Virginia statute may be advisory – “Shall be expected” to vote for nominees.)
WASHINGTON – Party Pledge / State Law – §§ 29.71.020, 29.71.040, Supp. ($1000 fine.)
WISCONSIN – State Law – § 7.75
WYOMING – State Law – §§ 22-19-106; 22-19-108
No Legal Requirement
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate:
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate:
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS DELAWARE GEORGIA IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MINNESOTA |
MISSOURI
NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY NEW YORK NORTH DAKOTA PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH WEST VIRGINIA |
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