Folks,

Here's some information on how the U.S Electoral College system works. If
you are ineterested in learning more about this highly debatable part of the
U.S constitution ( as it truns out to be lately), you can also visit the
following link. <<http://www.fec.gov/pdf/eleccoll.pdf>> or
<<http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecmenu2.htm>> The n click on "A Brief History of
the Electoral College". There is a twenty page Acrobat Reader downloadable
document prepared by the William C. Kimberling, Deputy Direct of the FEC
(Federal Election Comission).

I hope it helps to put some of our view points into perspective. After all,
you will always find it easier to put your point across if you are exposed
to the issue at hand.

Enjoy your day.

Abdoulie A. Jallow
Toll-free number: 1-888-392-4832(Excite2)
Personal extension for v/mail/fax: 291-368-1519

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How the Electoral College Works
The current workings of the Electoral College are the result of both design
and experience. As it now operates:

Each State is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its U.S.
Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives (which may
change each decade according to the size of each State's population as
determined in the Census).
The political parties (or independent candidates) in each State submit to
the State's chief election official a list of individuals pledged to their
candidate for president and equal in number to the State's electoral vote.
Usually, the major political parties select these individuals either in
their State party conventions or through appointment by their State party
leaders while third parties and independent candidates merely designate
theirs.
Members of Congress and employees of the federal government are prohibited
from serving as an Elector in order to maintain the balance between the
legislative and executive branches of the federal government.
After their caucuses and primaries, the major parties nominate their
candidates for president and vice president in their national conventions
traditionally held in the summer preceding the election. (Third parties and
independent candidates follow different procedures according to the
individual State laws). The names of the duly nominated candidates are then
officially submitted to each State's chief election official so that they
might appear on the general election ballot.

On the Tuesday following the first Monday of November in years divisible by
four, the people in each State cast their ballots for the party slate of
Electors representing their choice for president and vice president
(although as a matter of practice, general election ballots normally say
"Electors for" each set of candidates rather than list the individual
Electors on each slate).
Whichever party slate wins the most popular votes in the State becomes that
State's Electors-so that, in effect, whichever presidential ticket gets the
most popular votes in a State wins all the Electors of that State. [The two
exceptions to this are Maine and Nebraska where two Electors are chosen by
statewide popular vote and the remainder by the popular vote within each
Congressional district].
On the Monday following the second Wednesday of December (as established in
federal law) each State's Electors meet in their respective State capitals
and cast their electoral votes-one for president and one for vice president.

In order to prevent Electors from voting only for "favorite sons" of their
home State, at least one of their votes must be for a person from outside
their State (though this is seldom a problem since the parties have
consistently nominated presidential and vice presidential candidates from
different States).
The electoral votes are then sealed and transmitted from each State to the
President of the Senate who, on the following January 6, opens and reads
them before both houses of the Congress.
The candidate for president with the most electoral votes, provided that it
is an absolute majority (one over half of the total), is declared president.
Similarly, the vice presidential candidate with the absolute majority of
electoral votes is declared vice president.
In the event no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral votes for
president, the U.S. House of Representatives (as the chamber closest to the
people) selects the president from among the top three contenders with each
State casting only one vote and an absolute majority of the States being
required to elect. Similarly, if no one obtains an absolute majority for
vice president, then the U.S. Senate makes the selection from among the top
two contenders for that office.
At noon on January 20, the duly elected president and vice president are
sworn into office.
Occasionally questions arise about what would happen if the pesidential or
vice presidential candidate died at some point in this process.For answers
to these, as well as to a number of other "what if" questions, readers are
advised to consult a small volume entitled After the People Vote: Steps in
Choosing the President edited by Walter Berns and published in 1983 by the
American Enterprise Institute. Similarly, further details on the history and
current functioning of the Electoral College are available in the second
edition of Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, a real
goldmine of information, maps, and statistics.
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