How
the Electoral College Works
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- The
Electoral College in Brief
- Role
of the States
- Role
of the National Archives and Records Administration
- Role
of Congress
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The Electoral College in Brief The Electoral College was established by the founding
fathers as a compromise between election of the president
by Congress and election by popular vote. The electors
are a popularly elected body chosen by the States and the
District of Columbia on the Tuesday after the first Monday
in November (November 4, 2008). The Electoral College consists
of 538 electors (one for each of 435 members of the House
of Representatives and 100 Senators; and 3 for the District
of Columbia by virtue of the 23rd Amendment). Each State's
allotment of electors is equal to the number of House members
to which it is entitled plus two Senators. The decennial
census is used to reapportion the number of electors allocated
among the States.
The slates of electors are generally chosen by the political
parties. State laws vary on the appointment of electors.
The States prepare a list of the slate of electors for
the candidate who receives the most popular votes on a
Certificate of Ascertainment. The Governor of each State
prepares seven original Certificates of Ascertainment.
The States send one original, along with two authenticated
copies or two additional originals to the Archivist of
the United States at the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) by registered mail. The Certificates
of Ascertainment must be submitted as soon as practicable,
but no later than the day after the meetings of the electors,
which occur on the first Monday after the second Wednesday
in December (December 15, 2008). The Archivist transmits
the originals to NARA's Office of the Federal Register
(OFR). The OFR forwards one copy to each House of Congress
and retains the original.
The electors meet in each State on the first Monday after
the second Wednesday in December (December 15, 2008). A
majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the
President and Vice President. No Constitutional provision
or Federal law requires electors to vote in accordance
with the popular vote in their State.
The electors prepare six original Certificates of Vote
and annex a Certificate of Ascertainment to each one. Each
Certificate of Vote lists all persons voted for as President
and the number of electors voting for each person and separately
lists all persons voted for as Vice President and the number
of electors voting for each person.
If no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral
votes, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution provides
for the presidential election to be decided by the House
of Representatives. The House would select the President
by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who
received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote
would be taken by State, with each State delegation having
one vote. If no Vice Presidential candidate wins a majority
of electoral votes, the Senate would select the Vice President
by majority vote, with each Senator choosing from the two
candidates who received the greatest number of electoral
votes.
The States
The United States Constitution and Federal law place certain
responsibilities relating to the Presidential election
upon State executives and the electors for President and
Vice President. Neither the Constitution nor Federal law
prescribe the manner in which each State appoints its electors
other than directing that they be appointed on the Tuesday
after the first Monday in November (November 4, 2008).
The Constitution forbids a Senator, Representative, or
person holding an office of trust or profit under the United
States from being appointed as an elector.
In most States, the electors are appointed by state-wide
popular election. The slate of electors for the candidate
who receives the most popular votes is appointed. The slates
of electors are generally chosen by the political parties.
However, the States' laws vary on the appointment of electors.
In Maine and Nebraska, two electors are chosen at-large
by state-wide popular vote and the rest are selected by
the popular vote in each congressional district. As a result,
the electoral procedure in these States permits a split
slate of electors to be chosen.
After the general election, the Governor
of each State and the Mayor of the District of Columbia
prepare a Certificate
of Ascertainment of the electors appointed (herein, the
term "Governor" includes the Mayor of the District
of Columbia). The Certificate of Ascertainment must list
the names of the electors appointed and the number of votes
received by each. It must also list the names of all other
candidates for elector and the number of votes received
by each. The Certificate must be signed by the Governor
and carry the seal of the State. The format of the Certificate
is not dictated by Federal law, but conforms to the law
or custom of the submitting State.
The Governor must prepare seven original Certificates
of Ascertainment. One original, along with two authenticated
copies (or two additional originals) must be sent by registered
mail to the Archivist of the United States, National Archives
and Records Administration. The Certificates should be
sent as soon as practicable after the election, but must
be submitted to the Archivist no later than the day after
the meetings of the electors, which occurs on December
15, 2008. The other six originals must be delivered to
the State's electors on or before December 15, 2008.
On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December
(December 15, 2008), the electors meet in their respective
States. The State legislature may designate where in the
State the meeting will take place. It usually takes place
in the State capital, often in the capitol building. At
this meeting, the electors vote by ballot for President
and Vice President. There must be distinct ballots for
President and Vice President. The electors' votes are recorded
on a Certificate of Vote. This Certificate must contain
a list of all persons voted for as President and the number
of electors voting for each. It must also contain a list
of persons voted for as Vice President and the number of
electors voting for each. The names of candidates receiving
no electoral votes do not appear on the Certificate of
Vote.
There is no Constitutional provision or
Federal law requiring electors to vote in accordance
with the popular vote in
their States. In the 1976 election, a Washington elector
pledged to President Gerald Ford voted for Ronald Reagan.
In the 1988 election, a West Virginia elector voted for
Senator Lloyd Bentsen as President and for Governor Michael
Dukakis as Vice President. But some State laws require
electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote
and 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 format of the Certificate is not dictated by Federal
law, but is determined by the law or custom of each State.
Six original Certificates of Vote must be prepared by the
electors. Each Certificate must be signed by all of the
electors. One of the six Certificates of Ascertainment
forwarded to the electors by the Governor must be attached
to each of the six Certificates of Vote. Each of the six
pairs of Certificates must be sealed and certified by the
electors to be the list of votes of that State.
The six pairs of Certificates are distributed as follows:
- One
pair, by registered mail, to the President of the United
States Senate, The Capitol,
Washington, DC
20510;
- Two
pairs, by registered mail, to the Archivist of the
United States, National Archives and Records
Administration, c/o Office of the Federal Register
(NF), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001;
- Two
pairs to the Secretary of State of the State, one of
which is held subject
to the order of the President of the United States
Senate, the
other to be preserved by the Secretary for public inspection for one year;
and
- One
pair to the chief judge of the Federal district court
of the district in which the electors meet.
Since there is a very short time between the meetings
of the electors in the States and the counting of the electoral
votes by Congress, and the meetings of electors coincides
with the December holiday mail season, it is imperative
that these Certificates be delivered as soon as possible.
After the Certificates of Ascertainment and Certificates
of Vote are delivered to the appropriate persons, the States'
functions in the electoral process are completed.
NARA and Office of the Federal Register Procedures The Archivist of the United States is required by law
to perform certain functions relating to the electoral
college (3 U.S.C. sections 6, 11, 12, 13). The Archivist
has delegated to the Director of the Federal Register the
authority to carry out the administration of the electoral
college process.
Prior to the General Election
In October of each Presidential election year, the Archivist
sends a letter to the Governor of each State and the
Mayor of the District of Columbia along with an instruction
package prepared by the Office of the Federal Register
(OFR) that sets out the States' responsibilities regarding
the electoral college. The package also includes a quantity
of booklets containing applicable Federal Constitutional
and statutory provisions regarding presidential elections
to be distributed to each elector. Also in the month prior to the election, the OFR contacts
the Assistant Secretary of the Senate and the House Parliamentarian
to make arrangements for the delivery of the electoral
college certificates to Congress. And finally, in the month
prior to the election, the OFR prepares to receive the
electoral college certificates from the States. The OFR
makes special arrangements with the Archivist's mailroom
staff and messenger service to establish procedures for
handling the Certificates and transmitting them from the
Archives to the OFR.
After the General Election
During the week following the general election, the OFR
calls the Governor's Office in each State and the Mayor's
Office in the District of Columbia to make a personal
contact with a person responsible for the electoral college
process. In some States, the Secretary of State is the
official designated to administer the electoral college,
but other State officials may be assigned this responsibility
according to State law or custom. The OFR confirms that
materials mailed in October have arrived and reviews
the States' plans for carrying out their responsibilities. Receipt of Certificates of Ascertainment
Certificates should begin arriving at NARA shortly after
the general election held on November 4, 2008. The Archives
makes a record of the Certificates of Ascertainment it
receives and transmits them to the OFR's Legal Affairs
and Policy Staff by special delivery. The OFR logs in
a record of the Certificates and checks them for facial
legal sufficiency. If there are any problems with a Certificate,
an OFR attorney calls the contact person in the State
to advise them of the defect. The OFR makes copies of
the Certificates of Ascertainment available for public
inspection and secures the originals.
Receipt of Certificates of Vote
Certificates of Vote should begin arriving at NARA shortly
after the State meetings of the electors held on December
15, 2008. Certificates of Vote are recorded on a log
sheet when received at the Archivist's office and at
the OFR. Each Certificate is checked for facial legal
sufficiency, and if there are any problems with a Certificate,
an OFR attorney calls the contact person in that State
and the Assistant Secretary of the Senate to inform them
of the problems and offer advice as to a solution. After
the Certificates of Vote have been determined to be facially
sufficient, the OFR makes copies of them available for
public inspection and secures the originals.
Certificates of Ascertainment Transmitted to Congress
The OFR prepares cover letters for the Archivist's signature
to accompany the Certificates of Ascertainment transmitted
to Congress. The OFR hand delivers the Certificates and
cover letters to the Vice President's Office in the Senate
(the Vice President is the President of the Senate) and
the Speaker's Room on the House side of the Capitol and
obtains a receipt. If all the Certificates of Ascertainment
are received in a timely fashion, they are sent to Congress
in one group. However, late arriving Certificates may
also be hand delivered separately to Congress so that
transmittal of the other Certificates is not delayed.
Certificates of Vote Subject to the Call of the President
of the Senate
The OFR holds one of the two original Certificates of Vote
subject to the call of the President of the Senate in the
event that one or more Certificates fail to reach the Senate
in a timely manner. If the Archivist does not receive a
Certificate of Vote from a State by a week after the electors
meet, the OFR calls that State's contact person to make
sure the Certificates were mailed. If the Certificates
were not mailed, the OFR advises the State to transmit
the Certificates by express mail. If the Certificates were
mailed and are overdue in arriving, the OFR calls the Postal
Service to request that it trace the package. Finally,
if no Certificate of Vote is received from a State by the
fourth Wednesday in December after the election, the OFR
employs the procedural steps set forth at 3 U.S.C. sections
12 and 13 by securing a duplicate from the Secretary of
State of the State or by dispatching a special messenger
to obtain the duplicate held by a Federal District judge
and hand carrying it to Washington D.C.
Preserving Certificates
After Congress has met in joint session for the official
counting of electoral votes, all Certificates of Ascertainment
and Certificates of Vote in OFR's files are combined
into one file. Each file contains all Certificates from
a State, any cover letter accompanying the Certificates,
and any envelopes bearing certifications of electors'
votes. The files are placed in archival boxes and made
available for public inspection at the OFR for one year
and then transferred to NARA for permanent retention.
The Congress
House and Senate staff come to the Office of the Federal
Register (OFR) to inspect the Certificates of Vote in late
December. Because the statutory procedure prescribes that
the Certificates of Vote sent to the President of the Senate
be held under seal until Congress opens and counts them
in joint session, the Congress depends on the OFR to ensure
the facial legal sufficiency of Certificates. If any State's
Certificate fails to reach the President of the Senate,
the President of the Senate calls on OFR to deliver duplicate
originals in its possession to complete the set held by
Congress. After the 1988 general election, the President
of the Senate called for nineteen of the Certificates of
Vote held by the OFR. For the 1992 election, the OFR supplied
the Congress with two missing Certificates of Vote.
The Congress is scheduled to meet in joint session in
the House of Representatives on January 6, 2009 to conduct
the official tally of electoral votes. The Vice President,
as President of the Senate, is the presiding officer. Two
tellers are appointed to open, present and record the votes
of the States in alphabetical order. The President of the
Senate announces the results of the vote and declares which
persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President
of the United States. The results are entered into the
official journals of the House and Senate. The President
of the Senate then calls for objections to be made. If
any objections are registered, they must be submitted in
writing and be signed by at least one member of the House
and Senate. The House and Senate would withdraw to their
respective chambers to consider the merits of any objections
according the procedure set out under 3 U.S.C. section
15.
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A
Procedural Guide to the Electoral College
Pepared by
The Office of the Federal Register
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