Archive for April, 2012
How Presidents Are Elected – Really
By: J. Randolph Evans
Most voters think they elect the President and Vice President on General Election Day. This year, General Election Day is November 6, 2012. But, the truth be told, voters actually only elect Presidential Electors on General Election Day. Each state (and the District of Columbia) gets the total number of their Congressional delegation (both U.S. House and Senate) as Electors. For Georgia, this means 16 Electors – 14 (reflecting the total number of its Representatives) plus 2 (reflecting its 2 U.S. Senators). There are a total of 538 Electors (435 reflecting the total number of Representatives, plus 100 reflecting the number of Senators, plus 3 for the District of Columbia.
Photo ID – Now More Than Ever
By: J. Randolph Evans
In November 2008, two separate elections in Franklin County, Georgia for mayor in Royston and Franklin Springs ended in a tie. After a recount with an additional provisional ballot counted, just one vote decided both elections.
The impact of a few votes extends well beyond local races. While everyone remembers Florida’s votes in the 2000 Presidential Election, it was actually New Mexico that was closer. Only 366 votes in New Mexico separated George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore.
GOP Vice Presidential Calculus
By: J. Randolph Evans
GOP insiders have turned their attention to who might be a good Vice Presidential candidate. The movie “Game Change” (about the selection of Governor Sarah Palin by Senator John McCain) has highlighted the kinds of things that Presidential nominees and their campaign teams consider when making one of the most important decisions in their political career. Selecting a running mate involves a personal and political calculus that is different from anything that a nominee will have ever undertaken.
The EU is doomed!
Just The Numbers, Mam
By: Les Dunaway
As regular readers know, I’ve been less than optimistic about the prospects for recovery in the EU. I don’t believe that Greece, Portugal, Italy or, for that matter, France, will wean themselves from the socialist trough.
Sunday night, the most clueless of the clueless “mainstream media”, 60 Minutes, led with An Imperfect Union: Europe’s debt crisis [story] . Steve Kroft deserves credit for, finally, reporting the situation in Europe to the millions of Americans who don’t read the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times every morning.
The Court and Healthcare
By: J. Randolph Evans
For three days, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments from lawyers about the healthcare law (the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”) passed by the Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in 2010. The courtroom was packed with dignitaries including the Attorney General, state attorneys general, Senators, Members of Congress and others. Outside the courtroom, protesters of every sort gathered to make their opinions known to anyone who would listen. It is the nature of the United States’ system of governance.
