November 6, 2008

So who gets to vote in the Electoral College?

In the end, 538 people from across the United States actually get to pick the next president. It's a formality this year, of course, but still interesting.
So who gets to vote there?
I'm not sure.
In 2004, according to this document in the National Archives, these folks were the electors from Connecticut, who voted for John Kerry to no avail:
Andres Ayala, Jr. 
Andrea J. Jackson-Brooks
Donna King
Joshua King
Elizabeth O'Neil
David J. Papandrea
Larry Pleasant

I haven't Googled them yet, but I recognize only a couple of the names. Perhaps the others were Connecticut Lottery winners?
In any case, spurred by Al Tompkins' morning email from the Poynter Institute, I'll track down the mechanism for choosing these folks in Connecticut and who gets to vote this year. Feel free to let me know if you're tuned in enough to know the answers already.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that I doubt I'm on the list. And if I am, is there any compensation?
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what the point is of this article, but our country would be much better suited if liberals like Hillary Clinton etc. weren't trying to bash the briliant contruction of our electoral process by our founding fathers.

Anonymous said...

Its not by todays standards 1052

Anonymous said...

November 6, 2008 3:58 PM:

The Electoral College is fine. You just don't have the intellect to understand why it was created.

Here's one point. Without it, central Connecticut would never see a Presidential candidate because we would be basically irrelevant. If only the popular vote counted, only large population areas would see Presidents campaigning.

Equinox5207 said...

Steve,

I, for one, would love a quick re-lesson of how the Electoral College works. Based on what I remember, I am not sure it works as a benefit anymore, but would be happy to learn how it benefits us today if I am missing the point.