b'LEGISLATIVE REPORTLEGISLATIVE The Government We ElectIs the Government We DeserveRICHARD PATCH // LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORT he balloons have dropped,Typically,thepresidentialcandidatebound by their pledge, but now and the party conventions arewith the most popular votes on elec- again a faithless elector goes rouge.behind us, and the candi- tion day wins, but not always (notably dates for the highest officeBush v. Gore in 2000 and Trump v.The electors meet on the first Tuesday in the land are racing back and forthClinton in 2016).after the second Wednesday in Decem-across the country to gather enoughber (this year, on Dec. 17) in their re-votestobeelectedpresidentoftheWhilevotersseethefamiliarnamesspective states to cast their vote for pres-United States (POTUS). of candidates for POTUS when theyident and vice president of the United stepintothevotingboothandpullStates. The recorded vote of the electors ElectiondayisNov.5,2024,butthe levers, what they are actually vot- is sealed and transmitted to state and mail-inballotingandearlyvotinging for is a slate of electors that havefederalofficialsalongwithadditional arealreadyunderwayinmuchofpledged to support a particular can- documentation certifying that the elec-the country. didate. In most instances electors aretors are who they say they are.After receiving certified documenta-tion from the 50 states and Washing-ton, D.C., Congress meets in a joint session on Jan. 6 to count the votes oftheelectoralcollege.Ifthingsgo smoothly, the president of the Senate decorative | durable | functional (inthiscaseVicePresidentHarris) will announce the name of the next presidentandvicepresidentwhose terms will begin on Jan. 20.ThisRubeGoldbergmachinefor choosingapresidentistheresultof compromisein1787overfearsof unrestrainedpopulism,demandsof slave-holding states, and concerns that small-state(population-wise)issues wouldbesteamrolledbylarge-state issues. To satisfy the 13 original colo-nies and to keep the fledgling nation moving forward, the founders created the Electoral College as the method of USCG-Certied Light-Weight Aluminumchoosing our nations chief executive. Honeycomb Panels for Passenger Ferries Amendment12oftheConstitution rigidized.com/markets/marine directsthestatestoappointanum-658 Ohio Street | Buffalo, NY 14203 | marine@rigidized.com berofelectorsequaltothatstates FOGHORN 32'