The current system of the Electoral College has been in place for centuries, and many Americans have grown accustomed to it. However, what most people fail to realize is that this system is deeply flawed and has the potential to lead us down a dangerous path towards dictatorship. The Electoral College was originally created as a compromise between the smaller and larger states, but in today’s society, it serves no purpose other than to undermine the principle of ‘one person, one vote.’
What are the qualifications to be an elector?
The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of electors. Article II, section 1, clause 2 provides that no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. As a historical matter, the 14th Amendment provides that State officials who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies are disqualified from serving as electors. This prohibition relates to the post-Civil War era.
One of the main issues with the Electoral College is that it allows for the possibility of a candidate winning the presidency without winning the popular vote. This has happened five times in our nation’s history, including in the most recent 2016 election. In this scenario, the will of the people is essentially ignored, and the candidate who receives the most votes does not necessarily become the leader of the country. This goes against the very foundation of a democratic society.
The picking of electors is a process that is largely controlled by political parties. These electors are not required to vote in line with the popular vote in their state, meaning they have the power to choose a candidate who did not win the majority of votes. This essentially gives the political parties and their chosen electors more power than the American people.
Who selects the electors?
Choosing each State’s electors is a two-part process. First, the political parties in each State choose slates of potential electors sometime before the general election. Second, during the general election, the voters in each State select their State’s electors by casting their ballots.
The first part of the process is controlled by the political parties in each State and varies from State to State. Generally, the parties either nominate slates of potential electors at their State party conventions or they chose them by a vote of the party’s central committee. This happens in each State for each party by whatever rules the State party and (sometimes) the national party have for the process. This first part of the process results in each Presidential candidate having their own unique slate of potential electors.
Political parties often choose individuals for the slate to recognize their service and dedication to that political party. They may be State elected officials, State party leaders, or people in the State who have a personal or political affiliation with their party’s Presidential candidate. (For specific information about how slates of potential electors are chosen, contact the political parties in each State.)
The second part of the process happens during the general election. When the voters in each State cast votes for the Presidential candidate of their choice they are voting to select their State’s electors. The potential electors’ names may or may not appear on the ballot below the name of the Presidential candidates, depending on election procedures and ballot formats in each State.
The winning Presidential candidate’s slate of potential electors are appointed as the State’s electors—except in Nebraska and Maine, which have proportional distribution of the electors. In Nebraska and Maine, the State winner receives two electors and the winner of each congressional district (who may be the same as the overall winner or a different candidate) receives one elector. This system permits Nebraska and Maine to award electors to more than one candidate.
Do electors get to vote twice for President?
Electors do not vote twice for President. When they vote in the November general election, they aren’t electors yet; they are voting for themselves to be electors. They are the only ones who actually vote for President, which they do at the meeting of the electors (the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December).
Are there restrictions on who the electors can vote for?
There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Constitution does not require that electors be completely free to act as they choose and therefore, political parties may extract pledges from electors to vote for the parties’ nominees. Some State laws 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 Supreme Court decided (in 2020) that States can enact requirements on how electors vote. No elector has ever been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged. However, several electors were disqualified and replaced, and others fined, in 2016 for failing to vote as pledged.
It is rare for electors to disregard the popular vote by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party’s candidate. Electors generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to recognize years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our history as a nation, more than 99 percent of electors have voted as pledged.
The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) has compiled a brief summary of State laws about the various procedures, which vary from State to State, for selecting slates of potential electors and for conducting the meeting of the electors. You can download the document, “Summary: State Laws Regarding Presidential Electors ,” from the NASS website .
How does it help the Maga Cult?
The Electoral College disproportionately benefits smaller, less populous states. This means that the votes of individuals in these states hold more weight than those in larger states, giving them an unfair advantage in the election. This goes against the principle of equality and fairness in our democratic system.
What happens in the general election?
The general election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate’s preferred electors.
Here’s a quick recap of what happened in Georgia between November 2020 and January 2021.
“If you do not support my dad 100 percent, we have a problem. – Donald Trump Jr.”
This was in Georgia, two days after election day. The same week, the president’s allies circulated a video falsely accusing a Georgia election worker of throwing away ballots.
You know who was in the video that circulated: RUBY FREEMAN.
“So look, all I want to do is this,” Trump said, “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.”
You know who said that too on a recorded line: Trump called Raffensperger, the state’s top election official, and said he wanted to “find” the votes needed to reverse Biden’s narrow margin of victory in Georgia. Trump suggested that thousands of invalid votes could be found by scrutinizing absentee ballots in the Atlanta area.
This is why they all face criminal conspiracy charges in the state of Georgia.
