Dear Tea Party, There is no quorum needed at the Electoral College, stay home if you want, in fact all 24 states that went for Romney could not show, and Obama would still be re-elected.
I am always shocked when people who claim to have gone to some kind of higher educational institution fails to interpret simple text (Patrick Henry College is not included). I feel I need to help them out. Here is a simple news flash to the “Tea Party” cult members who have failed to take a moment and READ the twelfth amendment (it is 208 years old, you have had the time), and trust me, it is not that long, but it does have some big words in it.
The WAY the Electoral College is votes is laid out in the first paragraph (bolds are mine as bolds were not invented until the 20th century).
The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--
Now take a look... you know what you do not see? Any requirement for a quorum call.
The process is simple. pulls its delegates together, they vote for who they want to (no requirement to even vote for the winner of your state, but because the delegates are selected by the candidates people, a switch is rare.) That is it people. No More.
Where the Tea Party Cult is getting their very misguided information from is because they clearly cannot read the second part.
Here is the second part...
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, 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.
Okay here is where you are getting confused Tea Party people (math does that). The President of Senate, for the sake of typing, we will call him Harry. Harry gets the votes sealed up from the delegates of the and in front of all his co-workers he opens them up and shares with the others what was in the envelope.
Now I will give you a wee bit of a history lesson so you can understand the rest of it. You see our founding fathers were clear that they did not want political parties. Now frankly that request lasted about 6 years... but Mr. Washington was clear on the subject.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.
George Washington, September 19, 1796
So what does that mean to the 12th amendment? Easy back when this thing was written there was not JUST Republicans, or Democrats, we had more than two people that could run for president and have a chance of winning a state. The more people you have on the ballot, the more of a chance to have a tie.
Here is where you guys are just being willfully ignorant of the 12th amendment. As it says, “and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President.”
See, that "if" is really getting in the way... but I will go on.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say in 2012, Obama, Romney, Smith, Martinez, and Jackson all won a state or two and had electoral votes. At the end of the day, 2 of the 5 people here tied. Say Martinez and Obama both got 134 electoral votes, and the rest of the 3 split the rest electoral votes, Romney having 103. According to the 12th Amendment, Obama, Martinez, and Romney would be put to a vote in the House. Smith and Jackson, they are done. (before the 12th Amendment, the top 5 were put to a vote)
All the 12th Amendment is saying is that in order to have that vote (NOTE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE), in order for the House of Representatives to have this TIE BREAKING vote, there must be a 2/3 majority present. This was put in place to keep the House of Representatives from having this vote in the middle of the night when no one was around. You know to keep people like you from stealing the election. I want to add that this need for a quorum is not different than any other House business.
Do you understand now Tea Party? The only way that your little call to make sure that there is no quorum so that you can undermine the will of the American people (who you clearly seem to have contempt for) and get Romney elected is for there to have been a tie in the electoral votes that are sent to the President of the Senate. Your “Plan” died on June 15, 1804. You are welcome to have your state “withhold” its Electoral College vote, you only help out… you do not hurt. So.. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!