I would like to begin with the following bit of factual data:
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.
Each State's Certificates of Ascertainment confirms the names of its appointed electors. A State's certification of its electors is generally sufficient to establish the qualifications of electors.
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.
Now on to the opinion portion of this article or perhaps I should say argument.
The Electoral College and its procedure are established in the U.S. Constitution by Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 4; and the Twelfth Amendment (which replaced Clause 3 after its ratification in 1804). So, the process is very old indeed. By 1804, we built steam-powered railway locomotives and amphibious vehicles. By 1807, we used hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines in boats and road vehicles. By 1816, we invented bicycles. By 1820, we used steam locomotives on rails. By 1821, we used steam-powered monorails. By 1825, we began using steam-powered passenger carriages. By 1838, we built the first transatlantic steamship. By 1852, we invented the elevator. By 1853, we built aircraft gliders. By 1862, we made gasoline engine automobiles. By 1867, we began using motorcycles. By 1880, we built electric elevators. By 1896, we built electric escalators. By 1897, we had the steam turbine and electric bicycle.
This is now 2020 and we have indeed come along way. During the 20th century, by 1900, we built airships. By 1903, we flew motor-driven airplanes and sailed in diesel engine canal boats. By 1908, we drove gas engine automobiles. By 1911, we launched diesel engine driven ships. By 1912, we launched liquid-fueled rockets. By 1935, we built DC-3 transport aircrafts. By 1939, we built jet engine-powered aircrafts. By 1942, we launched V2 rockets. By 1947, we had supersonic manned flights. By 1955, we had nuclear-powered submarines. By 1957, we launched a man made satellite into orbit — Sputnik 1, built container ships and flew commercial Boeing 707s. By 1961, we launched the first manned space mission orbiting the Earth. By 1969, we flew Boeing 747 wide body airliners and made the first manned moon landing — Apollo 11. By 1971, we launched the first space station. By 1976, we flew the supersonic concord passenger jet. By 1981, we flew the Space Shuttle. By 1994, the channel tunnel opened.
During the 21st century, by 2001, we launched the first self-balancing personal transport. By 2004, we operated commercial high-speed Maglev trains and launched the first suborbital space flight — Spaceship One. By 2012, we have now probed and viewed beyond the edge of our solar system with Voyager 1 spacecraft.
The things we are creating and manufacturing and inventing today are beyond the wildest dreams of our fore-mothers and fathers just as the Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention—now known as the Constitutional Convention—which convened from May 25 to September 17, 1787. It was signed on September 17, 1787 it is outdated and does not contain the laws and protections needed for a 2020 world. The same holds true for an election system created in the very early years of the 1800s, it is outdated and cannot be expected to function properly in a 2020 world.
Now then considering the Electoral College consists of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President I ask you how difficult would it be for a multi billionaire or for that matter a large corporation or the RNC itself to come up with 270 million dollars to bribe the electors? Taking into consideration bribery does not work on the specific count needed there is always intimidation, threat and if need be violence which I would not put past the present administration and GOP. Am I making it clear yet?
Let’s go a bit deeper. You have a GOP President or rather a dictator who has since the beginning and before allied himself with our enemies and would be enemies to interfere with our election process, which by the way is sacred in America, by personally requesting such action. He has asked China, Ukraine and Russia publicly and privately and to top it off he is supported by the majority of the United States Senate and minority of the House of Representatives in this vile and seditious act to the point that each and every one of them lies extensively to further the dictatorial cause. Therefore my only conclusion to these acts of treason must be money and power. What else and why else would an entire party sell its very soul other than for more and more of each of those? Money and power are truly the root of all evil as the saying goes.
Considering these outstanding and very real facts the only solution can be to amend our Constitution to root out the defects and to most certainly amend the election portion to reflect a popular vote instead of the ancient Electoral College means. Ya know also occurs to me that while we’re at it we could do something about that damned pesky Presidential powers Act and the term limit problem for elected officials and appointed as well. I mean really, a judge for an entire lifetime and a senator or congress-person holding an office for thirty or forty years. That’s just ridiculous.
Now I know many are going to take me up on arguing about the finer points but lets all keep in mind while there are many in and out’s to my thoughts on these matters the overall idea of it is sound. It just needs some tweaking here and there and of course a both houses and an administration with some sense and who is by the way blue through and through and these are of course just my thoughts and mine alone on the matter.
So, what say you?