IF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTING THE PRESIDENT, THEN WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR?

IF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTING THE PRESIDENT, THEN WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR?

 

The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.

The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.

The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators. Read more about the allocation of electoral votes.

Under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution, the District of Columbia is allocated 3 electors and treated like a state for purposes of the Electoral College. For this reason, in the following discussion, the word “state” also refers to the District of Columbia.

Each candidate running for President in your state has his or her own group of electors. The electors are generally chosen by the candidate’s political party, but state laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are. Read more about the qualifications of the Electors and restrictions on who the Electors may vote for.

The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. You help choose your state’s electors when you vote for President because when you vote for your candidate you are actually voting for your candidate’s electors.

Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate. However, Maine and Nebraska each have a variation of “proportional representation.” Read more about the allocation of Electors among the states and try to predict the outcome of the Electoral College vote.

After the presidential election, your governor prepares a “Certificate of Ascertainment” listing all of the candidates who ran for President in your state along with the names of their respective electors. The Certificate of Ascertainment also declares the winning presidential candidate in your state and shows which electors will represent your state at the meeting of the electors in December of the election year. Your state’s Certificates of Ascertainment’s are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of the official records of the presidential election. See the key dates for the 2016 election and information about the roles and responsibilities of state officials, the Office of the Federal Register and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the Congress in the Electoral College process.

The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December after the presidential election. The electors meet in their respective states, where they cast their votes for President and Vice President on separate ballots. Your state’s electors’ votes are recorded on a “Certificate of Vote,” which is prepared at the meeting by the electors. Your state’s Certificates of Votes are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of the official records of the presidential election. See the key dates for the 2016 election and information about the roles and responsibilities of state officials and the Congress in the Electoral College process.

Each state’s electoral votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on the 6th of January in the year following the meeting of the electors. Members of the House and Senate meet in the House chamber to conduct the official tally of electoral votes. See the key dates for the 2016 election and information about the role and responsibilities of Congress in the Electoral College process.

The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results of the vote. The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.

The President-Elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th in the year following the Presidential election.

 

ASHANTI PUBLISHING GROUP “CHANGING THE FACE OF PUBLISHING!”

VOTING RIGHTS FOR BLACKS IN AMERICA CAME WITH A PRICE

Slavery for all purposes intended has become nothing more than a stale metaphor in my repertoire which; to this very day, still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The fact that I refuse to allow it to continue to have control over my life is a testament in and of itself.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my moments when the urge to blame the White man for my short-comings twisted my tongue in knots. I strongly believe; all way down to the core of my being, that the institution of slavery was one of this countries greatest failed policy. But at the end of the day I have to come face to face with myself in the mirror. I’ve come to believe that,  “The stress of indulgence mends the fabric for change”.

This is the one and only Maestro, reporting to you from the comforts of my own space. All month I will be dropping some facts about what African-American’s have been forced to endure and overcome since his unexpected trip to this country. Today’s topic is “Voting Rights For Blacks In America Came With A Price”.  The history of African American’s can take us on many journeys but let us focus on what lead up to President Obama making history in America.  Many of us speculate about when a Black man actually was given the right to vote.  Some may think it came about  in the mid 1900’s. You couldn’t be more wrong.  Black Americans got the right to vote when the Republicans passed the 15th Amendment. It was ratified on February 3, 1870. Many uninformed people think the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was filibustered by the Democrats, gave blacks the right to vote. It didn’t. It merely enforces already existing rights in a handful of southern states. Let the truth be told, the Civil rights act of 1964 did not grant the vote to African-Americans. I do believe that what did grant the vote was President Johnson’s Voting Rights act of 1965. This happened after marchers protesting against segregation and to be granted the right to vote were violently attacked by white segregationists who were trying to stop the protest. The marchers were planning to go from Selma to Montgomery. They later succeeded at walking to Montgomery, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “address at the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March” on March 25th, 1965.

Amendment XV to the U.S. Constitution –
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Regardless what laws had passed, most African-American’s were not allowed to vote in the South. White people in power used despicable practices to hinder the Black man from exercising his right to vote. These were some of the practices used by the White man to keep the Black man from voting:

     Violence:  Blacks who attempted to vote were beaten and their families threatened. Their homes were burnt down to the ground and if they were employed by a White man; which most of them were, they would lose their jobs.

     Literary Test:  Despite the fact most African American can read and right, black men back in the day were not as fortunate to have an education. Therefore, Whites would use that against them.

     Property Test:  If you didn’t own property you couldn’t. It was simple as that!

Although black women had played an important role in the scheme of things, they seldom received credit for the role they played in the movement. The 1963 March on Washington was one of the key events in the Civil Rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech resonated throughout the heart and consciousness of every man who heard it. Thanks to the Organizations and Black leaders who participated in marches, boycotts, and spreading the word about equality.

I’m often asked, “if you don’t like it here why don’t you go back to your own country.” Well it’s about 500 years too late for that bright idea.” The chain of events which have led me to my breaking point cannot be mended simply by applying oil when it squeaks.  I have my own theories about voting and the politics in America but today this isn’t about me. As a race of people we are misunderstood, underestimated and constantly under the threat of not being good enough.  We owe it to ourselves to better our position and not settle for the government’s subsidy programs and handouts. We have to take ownership for our state of being and be committed to do something about it.

Blacks have managed to overcome the oppressive rule of the White man in this country and despite the attempts to eradicate us have persevered. The Black man has contributed as much as any other emigrant to this country’s prosperity and has earned his right to vote.

Written by Maestro