Electoral College Meets Today to Pick President

More than 100 million people went to the polls six weeks ago, but the 538 who will elect Bill Clinton President are only now about to cast their deciding ballots.

Members of the Electoral College meet in state capitals across the nation today to vote for the 42nd President of the United States. While the outcome is clear, it won’t be official until the results are formally presented to a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.

Under the U.S. Constitution, citizens on Nov. 3 cast their ballots for slates of electors committed to a candidate. Each state has as many electoral votes as it has congressional districts plus one for each senator. In addition, the District of Columbia gets three electors.

In 48 states, all of the electoral votes are awarded to the slate that receives the state’s most popular vote. Only in Maine and Nebraska, electoral votes are divided according to the popular vote in each congressional district. Two votes are then added based on the statewide popular vote.

If all goes as planned, Clinton and his vice presidential choice, Al Gore, will receive 370 of the 538 electoral votes that will be cast.

But electors are not in all states bound to stick to their slate and may, indeed, vote for the candidate of their choice. Few have done so, however.

Four years ago, a West Virginia elector cast a vote for Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.) as President and Michael S. Dukakis as vice president--never mind that the two lost by a wide margin on Election Day and it actually was Dukakis who was running for President.

Members of the Electoral College have but one task before their work is done.

Under the Constitution, they will meet in their respective state capitals on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, cast their vote and sign half a dozen documents.