Transcript Electoral College (Presentation) - Lewis

A Composite Map of the US
&
Effects on the Electoral College
Microsoft Virtual Globe
Bush:
Electoral Votes:
AL 9
AK 3
AZ 8
AR 6
CA 54
CO 8
CT 8
DE 3
DC 3
FL 25
GA 13
HI 4
ID 4
IL 22
IN 12
IA 7
KS 6
KY 8
LA 9
ME 4
MD 10
MA 12
MI 18
MN 10
MS 7
MO 11
MT 3
NE 5
NV 4
NH 4
NJ 15
NM 5
NY 33
NC 14
ND 3
OH 21
OK 8
OR 7
PA 23
RI 4
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
WA
WV
WI
WY
8
3
11
32
5
3
13
11
5
11
3
Gore:
The U.S. Constitution:
Election by the Electoral College
• Initial Business of the New Congress
– (Art 1 Sec 4) Congress shall assemble once each year
– (Am XX Sec 2) on the 3rd day of January
– (Art 1 Sec 5) and a Majority of each [House] shall constitute a
Quorum to do business. . . .
– Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings
– (Art 1 Sec 2) The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker
and other Officers
– (Art 1 Sec 3) The Vice President of the United States shall be
President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally
tied. . . .
– (On 3 January 2001, Al Gore will be the President of the Senate)
– The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro
tempore, in the absence of the Vice President
• Electoral College Proceedings
– (Am XII) The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and
vote by ballot for President and Vice President. . . .
– Which lists they will sign and certify and transmit sealed to the
seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate. . . .
• Congressional Actions
– (AM XII) The President of the Senate (Al Gore) shall, in the
presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, open all
the certificates and the votes shall then be counted. . . .
• Selection of the President
– The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall
then be President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of Electors appointed. . . .
– (Currently: 538/2 = 269 & 269+1 = 270 electoral votes required)
– (In the event that the 25 electoral votes from Florida are not
certified or any combination of other states currently under
scrutiny results in neither candidate receiving 270 electoral votes)
– And if no person have such majority, then from the [three] persons
having the highest numbers. . . The House of Representatives shall
choose immediately,by ballot, the President. . . .
– But in choosing the President,
• the votes shall be taken by states
• the representation from each state having one vote
• a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or
members from two-thirds of the states
• and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice
– (Currently the state delegations to the House are divided 28
Republican, 16 Democratic, 5 Tied, and 1 Independent)
– (A reasonable assumption would be that the House would vote 32
to 18 for the Republican candidate, George W. Bush because 4 of
the tied state delegations have Republican governors and the
remaining 2 state delegations have Democratic governors)
• Congressional Selection of the President
– (AM XX Sec 1) The term of the President and Vice President shall
end at noon on the 20th day of January
– (In the event that the state delegations to the House cannot elect
the President)
– (AM XX Sec 3) If a President shall not have been chosen before
the time fixed for the beginning of his term. . . .
– The Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a
President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
• declaring who shall then act as President,
• or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected,
• (Congress can decide the outcome of the entire election)
• and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice
President shall have qualified
• (for an indeterminate term not to exceed 4 years)
• Congressional Selection of the Vice President
– (AM XII) The person having the greatest number of votes as
Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of the Electors appointed
– and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest
numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President
• a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the
whole numbers of Senators
• and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a
choice.
• But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of
President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
United States
– (If the Senate is spit 50/50, Al Gore acting as President of the
Senate will cast the deciding vote, presumably for Joe Liebermann)
• Conclusion:
– I believe that despite the myriad of potential litigation, George W.
Bush will be elected President because:
• If he wins Florida, he will have 271 electoral votes and qualify
under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution
• If the electoral votes of Florida are not certified by the State of
Florida, he will be elected by a majority of state delegations to
the House of Representatives, considering each state has only
one vote and a majority of delegations are predominantly
Republican
– I believe that Dick Cheney will be elected Vice President if George
Bush receives a majority of electoral votes (12th Amendment)
– However, should the election for President be decided by the state
delegations in the House, Joe Liebermann could possibly be
elected as Vice President by Al Gore casting the deciding vote in
an evenly divided Senate (12th Amendment)
– We live in a nation where we Democracy works. It is a great day to
be an American!