“The Founding Fathers had to compromise when it came to devising a system to elect the President.” Dave Roos—7/15/19, updated—11/02/20
1787—Constitution Convention—How to elect the President! Long debate between Congress doing the choosing and a democratic popular vote to choose.
COMPROMISE: The ELECTORAL COLLEGE!
According to what I have read and heard, a perfect solution was not found/agreed upon by increasingly frustrated, weary, fidgety, sometimes egotistical Founding Fathers, who, instead, finally put together the plan we have today because they could not agree upon anything better. Keep in mind that they were deeply untrusting of despotic kings, absolute rulers, and any kingdom that might directly “elect” their rulers! In fact, what other nation in the 1700s elected its ruler??? They were afraid of uneducated voters and/ or large non-clear- thinking mobs and/or congressmen who might collude for their own profits.
So, the American people vote not for President and Vice-President but for a small group of people, known as ELECTORS, who cast their VOTES directly for President and Vice-President during a meeting a few weeks after the general election is certified.
Set-Up: 538 total Electors (one for each U. S. Senator and Representative and three representing the District of Columbia). It takes a “MAJORITY” 270 Electoral Votes to “win” the “White House.”
USUALLY, but not all the time, the Electoral College Choice mirrors the Popular Vote—BUT NOT ALWAYS!
How States choose their electors is the responsibility of the individual states, but they cannot be anyone who has engaged in “insurrection” or “rebellion” against our Nation or has provided “aid” to our enemies. They also cannot be Federal Officers or Members of Congress.
The most used way today is by employing a “state party convention” to nominate and vote and certify—but that is by tradition and not law. And, seemingly unfortunately, the choices seem to often be REWARDS for support of or service to “THE PARTY.”
The Constitution does not require the “Electors” to follow the wishes of the popular vote, but, as far as I can determine, individual states can now pass laws that bind their electors to the popular vote results!
Timeline—November 3: Election Day; November 4-23: Votes counted; November 10-December 11: States certify Election results; December 8: Date by which states supposedly have counted votes, settled disputed results, determined winners of Electoral College votes, and printed “ascertainment” certificates; December 14: Casting of Electoral votes and certifying of results; December 23: Electoral Votes “must” arrive in Washington (or earlier); January 3: Swearing in of the “new” Congress: January 6: Counting of Electoral Votes—objections considered and decided—Tallies announced by President of the Senate—If there are objections, there is a lengthy possibility of procedures that you may research if you wish!
January 20: Inauguration Day—IF there is no President to inaugurate, there are many possibilities of who becomes “Acting President” until one is decided. Again, you may research these if you wish!
I hope this may help in some ways to clear up some misunderstandings. And, as I often say, I am not an “EXPERT,” so please do more research and careful reading/studying if you wish to debate some of the above with your friends and/or enemies.
As for Don Themer, I plan to support whoever is legally elected President and write about and address him/her as PRESIDENT, and I plan to support the United States of America the best I can without violating my Christian beliefs.
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