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Volume 38 Issue 5
November 7, 2000

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Electoral college vote becomes key in one of closest races in decades

BY TAMMY JARVIS
MESA LEGEND
Submitted November 7, 2000

With this year’s election likely being among the closest in history, suddenly the unthinkable has become conceivable.

What if one candidate loses the popular vote but wins the Electoral College vote?

"Sure, that’s very possible,"  said Dr. Don Gawronski, an MCC political science faculty member. "It has happened before."

In 1888, Grover Cleveland received 90,000 more votes than his opponent, Benjamin Harrison.  But, Harrison eventually won the election with 65 more electoral votes.

"You don’t vote for a presidential candidate, you vote for a slate of electors," Gawronski explained.

Arizona voters will understand what Gawronski means by the term, "slate of electors," as they examine their ballots, Nov. 7.  Under the name of each presidential candidate, there are eight additional names listed. Those are the people who will cast votes in the Electoral College if their respective candidate wins the popular vote in Arizona.

Then, those individuals will convene on Dec. 18 at the State Capitol to officially cast their votes. The votes are then taken by armed guard to Washington, D.C., where on Jan.6, along with the other 530 electoral votes, will be counted in the presence of both bodies of Congress.

Much can happen between Nov. 7 and Dec. 18.

How do voters know one or more electors won’t change their mind and cast an electoral vote for a different candidate?

"The electors are appointed by the state chair for their party, " said Jennie Cox, candidate services coordinator for the Arizona Democratic Party. "They pledge to a specific candidate. So, morally and ethically, they are required to vote for that candidate."

The number of electors is equal to the number of representatives in each state, where the process can become difficult. While Arizona has eight electors, some states have as few as three and others have more than 20. California, alone, has 54 electoral votes.

Regardless of the amount of individual votes a candidate receives, the next president will be the one who receives the most electoral votes.

That is, of course, unless there is a tie. 

If Bush and Gore each receive 269 electoral votes,  the race would go to Congress. The House of Representatives would then be responsible for casting its votes for president in their next session.  However, instead of each member voting individually, each state delegation would have one vote, which could get sticky, as the delegation may either vote based on which candidate carried their state or which candidate belongs to their party.

Meanwhile, the vice president is chosen by individual votes in the Senate.

Although the likelihood is slim, we could be led this next four years by President George W. Bush and Vice President Joe Leiberman.

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