F. Leon Wilson wrote:

<<SNIP>> The electors are a popularly elected body chosen by the
>States and the District of Columbia on the Tuesday after the first Monday
>in November (November 5, 1996).

Hey! That's Melbourne cup day! Is nothing sacred with you guys?

The Electoral College consists of 538
>electors (one for each of 435 members of the House of Representatives and
>100 Senators; and 3 for the District of Columbia by virtue of the 23rd
>Amendment). Each State's allotment of electors is equal to the number of
>House members to which it is entitled plus two Senators. The decennial
>census is used to reapportion the number of electors allocated among the
>States.

I can't follow that bit. What is the voting method for each state's
electoral college? Is each state an electorate? is each state's electoral
college elected by proportional representation, first past the post, or
what?
>
>The slates of electors are generally chosen by the political parties.
>State laws vary on the appointment of electors.

Does this mean the States can pass laws to over-rule the popular vote too?

>The States prepare a list
>of the slate of electors for the candidate who receives the most popular
>votes on a Certificate of Ascertainment. The Governor of each State
>prepares seven original Certificates of Ascertainment. The States send one
>original, along with two authenticated copies or two additional originals
>to the Archivist of the United States at the National Archives and Records
>Administration (NARA) by registered mail, which must be received by the
>first Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 16, 1996).
>The Archivist transmits the originals to NARA's Office of the Federal
>Register (OFR). The OFR forwards one copy to each House of Congress and
>retains the original.
>
>The electors meet in each State on the first Monday after the second
>Wednesday in December (December 16, 1996). A majority of 270 electoral
>votes is required to elect the President and Vice President. No
>Constitutional provision or Federal law requires electors to vote in
>accordance with the popular vote in their State.

So Wat Tyler was right then, if the voters make a mistake the electoral
college could over-rule them? Has this ever happened?
>
>The electors prepare six original Certificates of Vote and annex a
>Certificate of Ascertainment to each one. Each Certificate of Vote lists
>all persons voted for as President and the number of electors voting for
>each person and separately lists all persons voted for as Vice President
>and the number of electors voting for each person.
>
>If no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the 12th
>Amendment to the Constitution provides for the presidential election to be
>decided by the House of Representatives.  The House would select the
>President by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who
>received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken
>by State, with each State delegation having one vote. If no Vice
>Presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Senate
>would select the Vice President by majority vote, with each Senator
>choosing from the two candidates who received the greatest number of
>electoral votes.

No wonder so many people don't vote over there. In Australia of course even
that isn't an option. Its compulsory to vote.

During the last federal election here a fellow by the name of Albert Langer
from Melbourne was JAILED just for distributing leaflets urging people to
vote in a way not approved by the Australian Electoral Commission. (See the
Amnesty International report on Australia 1996)

Mind you, OUR head of state is appointed by the Queen of England, and has
the power to sack the elected government, but that power hasn't been
exercised since 1975.

Bill Bartlett
Bracknell Tasmania