No, it is called a direct democrcy, otherwise known as "They Tyranny
of the Masses". You really want what it popular to pass, rather than
what is right? Not me.

I wouldn't trust my neighbor with a spatula, I shudder to think of him
in the voting booth.

On Sat, 08 Mar 2003 09:49:18 -0500, Walter P. Schlomer
wrote:

On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 16:55:09 GMT, Bill Marcy
wrote:


It would be nice if the uneducated amongst us would learn just a
smattering (at least enough to get by as an adult), and maybe learn a
bit about the US Electoral College.
U. S. Electoral College
_________________________________________________ ____
How about direct nation-wide election by the People?
It is called progressive election! (see last paragraph)
_________________________________________________ ____
Frequently Asked Questions

Prepared by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and
Records Administration.

How did the terms "Elector" and "Electoral College" come into usage?
Who selects the electors?
What are the qualifications to be an elector?
How does the Electoral College elect the president?
How does the Electoral College process work in my State?
Is my vote for President and Vice President meaningful in the
Electoral College system?
Must electors vote for the candidate who won their State's popular
vote?
How is it possible for the electoral vote to produce a different
result than the nation-wide popular vote?
Why do we still have the Electoral College?
What proposals have been made to change the Electoral College system?
How do the 538 electoral votes get divided among the States?
What is the difference between the Winner-Takes-All Rule and
Proportional Voting, and which States follow which rule?
Can citizens in U.S. Territories vote for President?
What would happen if two candidates tied in a State's popular vote, or
if there was a dispute as to the winner?
References
How did the terms "Elector" and "Electoral College" come into usage?

The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution.
Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to
"electors," but not to the "electoral college." In the Federalist
Papers (No. 68), Alexander Hamilton refers to the process of selecting
the Executive, and refers to "the people of each State (who) shall
choose a number of persons as electors," but he does not use the term
"electoral college."

The founders appropriated the concept of electors from the Holy Roman
Empire (962 - 1806). An elector was one of a number of princes of the
various German states within the Holy Roman Empire who had a right to
participate in the election of the German king (who generally was
crowned as emperor). The term "college" (from the Latin collegium),
refers to a body of persons that act as a unit, as in the college of
cardinals who advise the Pope and vote in papal elections. In the
early 1800s, the term "electoral college" came into general usage as
the unofficial designation for the group of citizens selected to cast
votes for President and Vice President. It was first written into
Federal law in 1845, and today the term appears in 3 U.S.C. section 4,
in the section heading and in the text as "college of electors."



Who selects the 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. Electors are often selected to recognize their 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. Then the voters in each
State choose the electors on the day of the general election. 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.



What are the qualifications to be an elector?

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. A State's certification of electors on its
Certificates of Ascertainment is generally sufficient to establish the
qualifications of electors.



How does the Electoral College elect the President?

For a complete explanation, please visit our Electoral College
Procedural Guide at:
http://www.archives.gov/federal_regi...al_guide.html.

The following is a summary of the Electoral College process for
election year 2000.

Key Electoral College Dates and Events

November 7, 2000 - General Election: The voters in each State choose
electors to serve in the Electoral College. As soon as election
results are final, the States prepare seven "Certificates of
Ascertainment" of the electors chosen, and send one original along
with two certified copies to the Archivist of the United States.
December 18, 2000 - Meeting of Electors: The electors in each State
meet to select the President and Vice President of the United States.
The electors record their votes on six "Certificates of Vote," which
are paired with the six remaining original "Certificates of
Ascertainment." The electors sign, seal and certify the packages of
electoral votes and immediately send them to the President of the
Senate, the Archivist of the United States and other designated
Federal and State officials.
December 27, 2000 - Deadline for Receipt of Electoral Votes: The
President of the Senate, the Archivist of the United States, and other
designated Federal and State officials must have the electoral votes
in hand.
January 6, 2001 - Counting Electoral Votes in Congress: The Congress
meets in joint session to count the electoral votes (unless Congress
passes a law to change the date).


How does the Electoral College process work in my State?

For information on the electoral process in your State, you may wish
to contact the Secretary of State of your State. For example, the
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a web page devoted
to the electoral college: All About the Electoral College in
Massachusetts. To find your Secretary of State, go to the web site for
the National Association of Secretaries of State: http://www.nass.org.



Is my vote for President and Vice President meaningful in the
Electoral College system?

Yes, within your State your vote has a great deal of significance.
Under the Electoral College system, we do not elect the President and
Vice President through a direct nation-wide vote. The Presidential
election is decided by the combined results of 51 State elections (in
this context, the term "State" includes DC). Your vote helps decide
which candidate receives your State's electoral votes. It is possible
that an elector could ignore the results of the popular vote, but that
occurs very rarely.

The founders of the nation devised the Electoral College system as
part of their plan to share power between the States and the national
government. Under the Federal system adopted in the Constitution, the
nation-wide popular vote has no legal significance. As a result, it is
possible that the electoral votes awarded on the basis of State
elections could produce a different result than the nation-wide
popular vote. Nevertheless, the individual citizen's vote is important
to the outcome of each State election.



Must electors vote for the candidate who won their State's popular
vote?

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.

Which States bind electors to popular vote results? Refer to Electors
Bound by State Law and Pledges to find out.

The 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.



How is it possible for the electoral vote to produce a different
result than the nation-wide popular vote?

It is important to remember that the President is not chosen by a
nation-wide popular vote. The electoral vote totals determine the
winner, not the statistical plurality or majority a candidate may have
in the nation-wide vote totals. Electoral votes are awarded on the
basis of the popular vote in each State.

Note that 48 out of the 50 States award electoral votes on a
winner-takes-all basis (as does DC). For example, all 54 of
California's electoral votes go to the winner of that State election,
even if the margin of victory is only 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent.

In a multi-candidate race where candidates have strong regional
appeal, as in 1824, it is quite possible that a candidate who collects
the most votes on a nation-wide basis will not win the electoral vote.
In a two-candidate race, that is less likely to occur. But it did
occur in the Hayes/Tilden election of 1876 and the Harrison/Cleveland
election of 1888 due to the statistical disparity between vote totals
in individual State elections and the national vote totals.



Why do we still have the Electoral College?

The Electoral College process is part of the original design of the
U.S. Constitution. It would be necessary to pass a Constitutional
amendment to change this system.

Note that the 12th Amendment, the expansion of voting rights, and the
use of the popular vote in the States as the vehicle for selecting
electors has substantially changed the process.

Many different proposals to alter the Presidential election process
have been offered over the years, such as direct nation-wide election
by the People, but none have been passed by Congress and sent to the
States for ratification. Under the most common method for amending the
Constitution, an amendment must be proposed by a two-thirds majority
in both houses of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the
States.

Should we go on Ad nauseum?

Bill Marcy wrote in message . ..
Slight correction, you and I (I assume you, I know I) are not elected.

Is this a religious conversation or just politics?

Do you think that our fish care. aka Mr Limpet.

When you have cigars smoke them, when you have lemmons, make lemonade.

Sue Fallberg The redhead from Dallas, Texas