September 30, 2004

• Isn't that kind of metaphorically what's happening with these new voting machines?
• Hmmm, interesting idea. Unfortunately, quite impossible to achieve. I suppose that Congress would have to choose, since a coin flip would be "undignified" and having a slugfest or a rochambeau for the winner would be counterproductive.
• Nah, President selection rests with the Supreme Court. Just ask 'em.
• Though they might be a little busy having a sexual orgy to release all their social tension to take the case.
• a colleague of mine suggests we have a multi-day election, announcing the results each night. so, say, if you were lazy and your candidate lost the first day, you could get out and vote the next day.
• I wonder how big a part the state legislatures would play. The House gets to decide if no candidate wins a majority of the electoral vote. If there were zero votes, the states couldn't pick electors, thus no electoral vote. The states decide how the electors are chosen, so the legislatures would have to figure out what to do. Not that I really know, of course. Good question though!
• It would be decided by a one-off hit-counter race between Atrios and Instapundit.
• The Electoral College elects the president. I'm sure they have rules for just this contingency, which I am too lazy to look up.
• Actually, I have to choose. It's pretty weird, I know. But they asked me last night, just in case, like, and I said sure, whatever.
• Wouldn't a more likely possibility be that the candidates tie in all of the states?
• Can I borrow some glue? I've decided to make an electoral collage.
• Accordiing to the Electoral College: In the event no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral votes for president, the U.S. House of Representatives (as the chamber closest to the people) selects the president from among the top three contenders with each State casting only one vote and an absolute majority of the States being required to elect. Source: How the Electoral College Works Blasted! They've thought of everything...
• I have total faith in Blaise's ability to back my guy. NOBODY VOTE.
• I hope your electoral collage turns out pretty, mecurious! *hands over the glue stick*
• I fondly remember my time at Electoral College, Cambridge.
• Aye, those were good days. Buying chips and gravy in the Electoral Cafeteria... Sneaking out to the Electoral Pub next door... Huffing glue behind the Electoral Bikesheds...
• I failed out.
• It would be decided by a one-off hit-counter race between Atrios and Instapundit. Brilliant.
• There is this thing called the Constitution you can look up on the internet. Amendment XII

  The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

  Dick Cheney will be the tiebreaker.
• EVERYBODY VOTE!!!!
• All the examples I have seen here pertain only to the Electors...none of them answer MonkeySlayer's question really. I know we are actually voting for electors who will vote for our guy, but how would they be chosen if no one voted is more of what he is asking. That said, I have no idea but the method for selection of electors is a State's function, not the federal governement, so it is definitely a State-by-State situation.
• As Sullivan points out above in his Constitutional excerpt, Electoral College members aren't supposed to vote for a VP and Pres candidate who are both from the same state as themselves. This makes sense, since the framers were fairly thorough at covering bases when it came to avoiding the rigging of the power structure. I was rather flabbergasted when I first read about this point just a couple weeks ago. I had never before heard that the Texas EC votes in 2000 were unconstitutional. You'd think someone would have made more of a stink about it. However, the above excerpt is also not clear on what should the Texas EC have done? Honestly curious.
• But Cheney's home state is Wyoming, so they weren't from the same state.
• The article I originally read made it clear that Cheney hasn't lived in Wyoming for quite a long time. Practically since he stopped being their congressman.
• The French tried this. Result: Le Pen. please go vote.
• *slaps monkeys* Vote damn you! Vote! *smack!* /shakes by collar
• How's about we do it Roman Colliseum style? like, grab all the presidential candidates, throw them in the sand and watch closely as they try to kill each other and survive the tigers (AT THE SAME TIME!)... I think I would def. follow a leader like that...but then again, we run the risk of having The Rock as president.
• Except The Rock is from somewhere in Polynesia, so technically he's in the same boat as Ahnold "Plo-Chops" Schwarzenegger.