Introducing Connie White as guest author for TheDemoMemo. Connie White is a long-time political analyst and revolutionary activist. Connie has presented her analyses and spoken at revolutionary conferences around the world, and organized the African Tribunal that took place at
The presidential race is revving up for 2008! Did you know/remember that it is the Electoral College that elects the President of the
The American voter has become increasingly disgruntled with the choices given, and the outcome of presidential elections. We are gearing up for another presidential election in 2008 and you should be informed and aware. Take the time to get to know the candidates and to learn more about the p
ossibility of a third-party candidate actually being elected president. Was Ralph Nader really in the running in 2000 or is the American voter being duped to believe they have a say in electing the President of the
Recent events re elections 2000 have shown that the "race for the Presidency" is not all that it is cracked up to be -- so to speak. The recent elections -- and the disputes arising from these elections -- have again brought to light that the American "presidency" is not decided by popular vote, but by the Electoral College, i.e., the votes cast by each states' electors. In other words, your vote at the polls is not what directly elects the President of the
The Electoral College was established by the "founding fathers," and currently consists of 538 electors (one for each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 Senators, and 3 for the
In Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, the method of selecting electors is delegated to the separate state legislatures, and the voting procedure to be followed by the electors is carefully defined. ("Electoral College," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000) What is not specifically defined by the Constitution is how the electors will be selected by each state. Most states currently adhere to the selection of electors based on the two-party system, in that electors are selected by the national conventions of the Democratic and Republican parties. The electors that ultimately make up the Electoral College for a given election year are the slates presented by the Democrats and Republicans.
The Democratic Party and Republican Party slates of electors are determined as follows. In the Democratic Party, each congressional nominee and each US Senate nominee (determined by the last two elections) designates one elector. In the Republican Party, the nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, controller, attorney general, secretary of state, United States Senators (again, going back two elections), the Senate and Assembly Republican leaders, all elected officers of the Republican state central committee, the national committeeman and committeewoman, the president of the Republican county central committee chairmen's organization and the chair or president of each Republican volunteer organization officially recognized by the state central committee act as electors. (Secretary of State website) The Constitution provides that no incumbent Senators, congressional representatives or persons holding an "office of trust or profit" of the
Each state is responsible for the process by which state electors are selected. For example, in
All states except
In other words, the Electoral College -– selected by political parties -- technically elects the president, and not the popular vote count on election day.
More about the Race for the Presidency tomorrow...
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» The Race for the Presidency: Part II from TheDemoMemo
This is the second installment of the series entitled "Race for the Presidency." Please take time to read the first entry before reading this one if you have not already as this entry will pick up right were yesterday's left... [Read More]
Tracked on: January 31, 2007 12:51 AM | Permalink to Trackback