Despite Dec. 12 Deadline, Many States Yet to Submit Electors

Despite the Supreme Court’s focus on Tuesday’s deadline for certifying slates of electors in the presidential race, California and 19 other states had not reported their lists as of Wednesday afternoon, federal officials said.

No-shows included Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico and Hawaii.

But it’s no big problem, said officials at the National Archives, as long as official lists of the state electors arrive at Archives headquarters in Washington by Monday, the date members of the electoral college vote for president.

“We consider the deadline to be Dec. 18 with no penalty,” Archives representative Susan Cooper said. “The Dec. 12 date in federal law means that all controversies must be settled by then for Congress not to challenge the electors.”

At least one election expert said he found that surprising. Daniel Hays Lowenstein, a UCLA law professor who has written a textbook on election law, remarked: “It may not be very significant, but you’d think it’s less likely this year that states would let it slip, with all the publicity we’ve had.”

Tuesday night the Supreme Court effectively handed the presidency to George W. Bush by ruling that Florida would not be able to complete a constitutional recount of ballots by midnight Tuesday.

It’s up to each governor to submit so-called “certificates of ascertainment” containing names and addresses of their electors.

Steve Maviglio, press secretary to California Gov. Gray Davis, said Tuesday’s deadline was designed only to avoid challenges by Congress. But in the next few days, he said, “we’ll be ready to go.” California’s 54 electors are pledged to Vice President Al Gore.