#538 Presidential Electors

Let us take a look at the Presidential Election 2012 and try to understand the Presidential Election process. Let us refer the constitution and compare it with the events that took place.

Here is the United States Constitution. Article 2. Section 1.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List 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. 

Here is the actual event:

WE THE UNDERSIGNED, Electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America, being duly appointed for the State of California as displayed in the annexed Certificate of Ascertainment made and delivered by the Governor of the State of California, with any deficiency in the number of Electors supplied by election according to law, and having met the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of California, do hereby certify that the following candidates received the following number of votes:

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Barack Obama NUMBER OF VOTES- 55

FOR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Joseph Biden NUMBER OF VOTES- 55

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands at Sacramento, California, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, being the seventeenth day of December, 2012. 

______________________________________________________________________

As per the constitution, the California presidential electors met at Sacramento and did cast two votes.

As per the constitution, the presidential electors need to vote to an outsider of California. In this case, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden; both are outsider for California.

As per the constitution:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

Let us take a look at the list of Presidential Electors from California. California has 53 congressional districts. So, the number of Presidential Electors from California is 53+2 = 55.

As per the constitution, California state appointed 55 Presidential Electors. They are not Senators or House of Representatives or any office holder.

Presidential Electors 2012

In the above blog, there are some interesting observations:

This means that if “Mitt” Romney wins the California popular vote, then Meg Whitman, Abel Maldonado, Mimi Walters, Tony Strickland, Steve Cooley, Damon Dunn and Carly Fiorina, all of whom have lost bids for statewide office, would meet in Sacramento in mid-December as members of the Electoral College.

In this list, two names are obvious; Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina will not vote for Donald Trump.

The following are the names of California's 55 Democratic electors.  

At least eight of the 55 are relatives by blood or marriage of the congressional candidates who appointed them.  

At least nine electors are non-residents of the congressional districts that they represent. (There is a cluster of non-resident electors in the San Joaquin Valley, where four of the six congressional districts will have electors who reside outside of the Valley.)  

Some are financial contributors to the congressional candidates who appointed them.  Some are political consultants to their appointing powers.

Jang Badhesha - CD 19
San Jose, CA (Rep. Zoe Lofgren appointed Jang Badhesha, who apparently is a lab manager at Juniper Networks and a golfer.)

 This person, Jang Badhesha didn't show up on election day. Chris Masami Myers was appointed and the process was completed.

Article 2, Section 1 of the United States Constitution says,

Each State shall appoint the Presidential Electors.

We need to admit the fact that we do not follow this Section of the Constitution. Nobody knows who appoint the Presidential Electors.

We know who appoint the Jury in a court. But not the Presidential Electors.

In fact, these Presidential Electors have greater responsibility than a Jury.

Presidential Electors is a Constitutional Responsibility. As per the Constitution and Federalist Papers, citizens transfer their authority to these Presidential Electors.

Presidential Elector is a Constitutional Position; just like Senators; House of Representatives; the President; Speaker; Supreme Court Judges.

Only thing is, it is a very short term position. But with huge responsibility and enormous authority.

California State is not appointing these Presidential Electors. People are not electing these Presidential Electors. Some individuals, who doesn't have any constitutional authority prepares this list of Presidential Electors.

We bring down the Constitution to a very low level; it is like some religious custom process.

It's time, we need to ask the question; do we respect the Constitution.

Does our actions are truthful to the Constitution?

If citizens don't agree to the Constitution, they have rights to make amendments. But without making constitutional amendments, the way we appoint the Presidential Electors is an insult to the Constitution.

It is the responsibility of the Secretary of State. For California, it is the responsibility of Alex Padilla

Alex Padilla, the Secretary of State, California needs to bring about change in California. Let the people of California elects their Presidential Electors. Let us give the rights back to the people.

Nobody else has any constitutional authority to appoint 55 Presidential Electors.

As per Alexander Hamilton,

... the presidential electors chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture.