Electoral College Votes Now Cast
(N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyright) WASHINGTON. December 14. The machinery of the Electoral College worked briefly today as President Johnson and Senator Hubert Humphrey were chosen to be the next President and VicePresident of the United States. The 538 members of the Electoral College, assembled in the 50 State capitals and the District of Columbia, voted in accordance with the popular votes cast by the American people on November 3.
Thus 486 Democratic electors gathered in the 44 States and the District of Columbia which gave Johnson and i
I Humphrey a popular vote plurality. And 52 Republican electors met in the six States carried by Senator Barry Goldwater and William E. Miller, the Republican nominees for President and Vice-President. There were no reports of electors voting for other than the nominees.
When 69,000,000 Americans voted on November 3, they were actually selecting a slate of Electoral College electors in their own states who are generally committed to vote the way their constituents did. The Electoral College system dates back to the beginning of the nation. This is how it works: Each state is entitled to the same number of Electoral College electors as it has Senators and Representatives in the United States Congress. Thus, the Electoral College of
528 members, one for each of the 100 Senators and 435 Representatives in Congress, plus three from the District of Columbia, in which Washington, the capital, is located. The United States constitution stipulates that after a Presidential election, the electors of each state meet in their state capitals on the first Monday following the second Wednesday in December to cast ballots for the two highest political posts in the nation.
Citizens who cast votes for President and Vice-President last month were actually electing slates of electors from the party of their choice. Some states carried the names of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates at the top of the ballot Others listed the names of electors for each party. The electors are usually elected at state conventions
of the Democratic and Republican parties. Each vote on November 3 for the party’s top two candidates became a vote for the party electors. The party in each state which acquires the most votes is credited with all that state’s electoral votes. If a state has 45 electoral votes, for example, the party with the greatest number of votes cast for electors gets all that state's 45 electoral votes. The electors, having now cast their votes, the ballots are sealed and shipped to the President of the United States Senate. On January 6 the Senate and House of Representatives will meet to count the electoral votes.
They will then be recorded officially to comply with constitutional requirements. Traditionally, electors vote for the nominees who headed their party ticket, but this is not compulsory. John
F. Kennedy was the Democratic Party candidate in 1960. However, Virginia’s Democratic Senator Harry F. Byrd received 15 electoral votes. President Johnson is not expected to run into any serious trouble from the Democratic electors because of his wide margin of popular votes 'over Senator Barry Goldwater. Mr Johnson is assured of getting far more than the 270 electoral votes that comprise a majority. There have been more than 100 unsuccessful attempts to alter the Electoral College system. It was devised because the nation’s founding fathers believed that poor communications, lack of information on candidates and issues, and a general low level of education were impediments to the intelligent selection of a President and Vice-President by direct national vote.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30625, 16 December 1964, Page 21
Word Count
591Electoral College Votes Now Cast Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30625, 16 December 1964, Page 21
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