E C update

[wakeupamerica]

I checked the Official U.S. Electoral College website today to get an idea of the votes that have come in to date. I was prompted to do this after entertaining the following questions on my blog wall from Lisa Karres [as edited].

Here are a few questions for you . . .

Currently, Obama only has received 170 electoral votes. The deadline for submitting the votes was last week. Congress will meet on January 8th. Can Congress over-ride the Delegates if they did not give Obama his minimum required of 270?

I am told this is the first time in history that many Delegates did NOT report in or submit their votes by the deadline. I have been told that Indiana ALL voted "Present" and cast zero votes. Can SCOTUS over-ride the delegates and just make Obama POTUS?

Some say that no one has a right to file a lawsuit until on or after Janaury 8th that is why SCOTUS refused Leo and Cort's cases. Some say SCOTUS planned a strategy assigning Phil Berg's case to January 9th when he does have standing. I believe that the longer SCOTUS waits the more damage will be done.

For example, companies are creating collector coins, stamps and plates. The numerous Inaugural Balls are still being planned. People are donating to these Balls and purchasing flights and hotel reservations, etc. The more time and money spent, the more his supporters are getting comfortable with the idea of him being POTUS. Wouldn't it have been better to nip this back in mid November before so many people invested so much?

If SCOTUS is worried about riots, it is almost like they created that scenario. Surely Obama and his staff know what might happen to them. I heard that it is possible that his entire election and presidential staff could all be brought up on fraud charges. Wouldn't he be responsible for paying back millions of dollars in campaign donations? If it is found he is an illegal alien, would they deport him and if so, to where? Indonesia? Kenya? Just some thoughts. Would love to hear your responses. Thank You - Lisa Karres

My reply was as follows:

archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/

Link above. So far only 24 states are represented but it looks like all of Indiana's votes went for Obama/Biden. Congress cannot override the electoral college. It takes 270 votes to win and they are not officially counted until January 8th.

What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each State delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House.

Date of Counting and Certifying the Electoral Votes

Public Law 110-430 changed the date of the electoral vote in Congress in 2009 from January 6 to January 8. This date change is effective only for the 2008 presidential election.

Timeline

After the general election, the Governor of each State prepares seven original Certificates of Ascertainment listing the persons appointed as electors, and sends one original and two certified copies to the Federal Register.

*
December 9, 2008 is the deadline for States to make final determinations of any controversies or contests as to the appointment of electors.

*
On December 15, 2008, the electors meet in their State to select the President and Vice President of the United States. The electors sign, seal and certify packages of electoral votes and immediately send one set of votes to the President of the Senate (Richard B. Cheney) and two sets to the Archivist.

*
December 24, 2008 is the deadline for receipt of electoral votes at NARA.
The Archivist transmits copies of the Certificates of Ascertainment to Congress by January 3, 2009.


Certificates of Vote

According to NARA, the deadline for receipt of electoral votes is December 24th as stated above. As stated below, the certificates are posted online as soon as they are received. So far, the results of only 24 states are posted. You may click on each State below to see how the votes were cast.

*
What is a Certificate of Vote? - Certificates of Vote are the documents that contain the elector's votes for president and vice president. While Federal law does not govern the general appearance of the Certificates, they must contain two distinct lists – one for President and one for Vice President.

*
This information becomes available when the Federal Register Office receives the Certificates of Vote after the electors cast their votes on December 15, 2008.


View Certificates of Vote from the 2008 Presidential Election:


Alabama
Arizona
Colorado
Delaware
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Michigan
Mississippi
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin


Hope Renewed

Those who are aware that only 24 States have reported are beginning to get a sense of renewed hope that perhaps the electors have done the right thing by contesting Barack Obama’s natural born status. Some are even saying that Sarah Palin still has a shot at being VP, or as one person has stated, perhaps even POTUS.

There are however a couple of hurdles. First of all the official count will not take place until January 8th. So we don’t really know whether only 24 States have participated in the vote. Results can be filed late without penalty.

Secondly, in the event no candidate received the required 270 votes, the matter of who will be President and Vice President will be in the hands of a Democratic controlled Congress and Senate. As quoted in my reply, above:

If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each State delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House.


Conclusion

While I am enlightened by all of this, I have resolved to not become complacent. I will continue to hold my Congressman, and both Senator’s feet to the fire. I need for them to provide an adequate, well researched, and thorough reply to the correspondence I have sent regarding Obama’s inability to qualify as a natural born citizen under Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution. I need an answer to my question of ‘whether or not they intend to object on January 8th’. I cannot be more serious than I am today about turning my back, forever, on those who dare to ignore such a grossly obvious constitutional breach.

Source: Office of the Federal Register, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration – Click Here

[Kurt]

Well, all votes are in. Next, to the House on Thursday...

[Kevan Corkill]

Prayers, praying that the TRUTH will come into the light for all to see...Amen. :)

[Kurt]

A couple of questions come to mind:

Why are 26 states and the District of Colombia past due in submitting the Certificates of Vote?
Why are 6 states past due in submitting the Certificate of Ascertainment? (I am assuming that is why 6 states are omitted from the Electoral College Members List on the NAFA site).

The excerpt above states that it is the duty of the Secretary of State to submit the Certificate of Vote at the request of the President of the Senate or the Archivist. What if no Certificate exists, or the state is intentionally withholding it? Can the states be compelled to submit a Certificate?

[swimkin]

I find this report rather interesting, although I am very hopeful something is done about his eligibility to be President, I really do not expect any one to do anything about it.

I have sent out all the letters I could and spent the money the money to do so and I have not yet given up. I am still writing them to our Governors even still. I am hopeful, but I will believe it when I actually see it.

Don't get me wrong, I just have watched too many things go by without them sticking to this guy. I think the fix has been in for a long time with a large number of people.

[wakeupamerica]

I HOPE YOU ARE CORRECT

[WTPUSA]

It appears that they may allow more time to count EC votes. Taken from the National Achives Site under the Electoral College section

• The President of the Senate and the Archivist should have the electoral votes in hand by December 24, 2008. If votes are lost or delayed, the Archivist may take extraordinary measures to retrieve duplicate originals.

NARA and Office of the Federal Register Procedures
The Archivist of the United States is required by law to perform certain functions relating to the electoral college (3 U.S.C. sections 6, 11, 12, 13) SEE BELOW. The Archivist has delegated to the Director of the Federal Register the authority to carry out the administration of the electoral college process.

Prior to the General Election
In October of each Presidential election year, the Archivist sends a letter to the Governor of each State and the Mayor of the District of Columbia along with an instruction package prepared by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) that sets out the States' responsibilities regarding the electoral college. The package also includes a quantity of booklets containing applicable Federal Constitutional and statutory provisions regarding presidential elections to be distributed to each elector.

Also in the month prior to the election, the OFR contacts the Assistant Secretary of the Senate and the House Parliamentarian to make arrangements for the delivery of the electoral college certificates to Congress. And finally, in the month prior to the election, the OFR prepares to receive the electoral college certificates from the States. The OFR makes special arrangements with the Archivist's mailroom staff and messenger service to establish procedures for handling the Certificates and transmitting them from the Archives to the OFR.

After the General Election
During the week following the general election, the OFR calls the Governor's Office in each State and the Mayor's Office in the District of Columbia to make a personal contact with a person responsible for the electoral college process. In some States, the Secretary of State is the official designated to administer the electoral college, but other State officials may be assigned this responsibility according to State law or custom. The OFR confirms that materials mailed in October have arrived and reviews the States' plans for carrying out their responsibilities.

Receipt of Certificates of Ascertainment
Certificates should begin arriving at NARA shortly after the general election held on November 4, 2008. The Archives makes a record of the Certificates of Ascertainment it receives and transmits them to the OFR's Legal Affairs and Policy Staff by special delivery. The OFR logs in a record of the Certificates and checks them for facial legal sufficiency. If there are any problems with a Certificate, an OFR attorney calls the contact person in the State to advise them of the defect. The OFR makes copies of the Certificates of Ascertainment available for public inspection and secures the originals.

Receipt of Certificates of Vote
Certificates of Vote should begin arriving at NARA shortly after the State meetings of the electors held on December 15, 2008. Certificates of Vote are recorded on a log sheet when received at the Archivist's office and at the OFR. Each Certificate is checked for facial legal sufficiency, and if there are any problems with a Certificate, an OFR attorney calls the contact person in that State and the Assistant Secretary of the Senate to inform them of the problems and offer advice as to a solution. After the Certificates of Vote have been determined to be facially sufficient, the OFR makes copies of them available for public inspection and secures the originals.

Certificates of Ascertainment Transmitted to Congress
The OFR prepares cover letters for the Archivist's signature to accompany the Certificates of Ascertainment transmitted to Congress. The OFR hand delivers the Certificates and cover letters to the Vice President's Office in the Senate (the Vice President is the President of the Senate) and the Speaker's Room on the House side of the Capitol and obtains a receipt. If all the Certificates of Ascertainment are received in a timely fashion, they are sent to Congress in one group. However, late arriving Certificates may also be hand delivered separately to Congress so that transmittal of the other Certificates is not delayed.

Certificates of Vote Subject to the Call of the President of the Senate
The OFR holds one of the two original Certificates of Vote subject to the call of the President of the Senate in the event that one or more Certificates fail to reach the Senate in a timely manner. If the Archivist does not receive a Certificate of Vote from a State by a week after the electors meet, the OFR calls that State's contact person to make sure the Certificates were mailed. If the Certificates were not mailed, the OFR advises the State to transmit the Certificates by express mail. If the Certificates were mailed and are overdue in arriving, the OFR calls the Postal Service to request that it trace the package. Finally, if no Certificate of Vote is received from a State by the fourth Wednesday in December after the election, the OFR employs the procedural steps set forth at 3 U.S.C. sections 12 and 13 SEE BELOW by securing a duplicate from the Secretary of State of the State or by dispatching a special messenger to obtain the duplicate held by a Federal District judge and hand carrying it to Washington D.C.

Preserving Certificates
After Congress has met in joint session for the official counting of electoral votes, all Certificates of Ascertainment and Certificates of Vote in OFR's files are combined into one file. Each file contains all Certificates from a State, any cover letter accompanying the Certificates, and any envelopes bearing certifications of electors' votes. The files are placed in archival boxes and made available for public inspection at the OFR for one year and then transferred to NARA for permanent retention.

Credentials of electors; transmission to archivist of the united states and to congress; public inspection

§ 6. It shall be the duty of the executive of each State, as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the appointment of the electors in such State by the final ascertainment, under and in pursuance of the laws of such State providing for such ascertainment, to communicate by registered mail under the seal of the State to the Archivist of the United States a certificate of such ascertainment of the electors appointed, setting forth the names of such electors and the canvass or other ascertainment under the laws of such State of the number of votes given or cast for each person for whose appointment any and all votes have been given or cast; and it shall also thereupon be the duty of the executive of each State to deliver to the electors of such State, on or before the day on which they are required by section 7 of this title to meet, six duplicate-originals of the same certificate under the seal of the State; and if there shall have been any final determination in a State in the manner provided for by law of a controversy or contest concerning the appointment of all or any of the electors of such State, it shall be the duty of the executive of such State, as soon as practicable after such determination, to communicate under the seal of the State to the Archivist of the United States a certificate of such determination in form and manner as the same shall have been made; and the certificate or certificates so received by the Archivist of the United States shall be preserved by him for one year and shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection; and the Archivist of the United States at the first meeting of Congress thereafter shall transmit to the two Houses of Congress copies in full of each and every such certificate so received at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Disposition of certificates
§ 11. The electors shall dispose of the certificates so made by them and the lists attached thereto in the following manner:
First. They shall forthwith forward by registered mail one of the same to the President of the Senate at the seat of government.
Second. Two of the same shall be delivered to the secretary of state of the State, one of which shall be held subject to the order of the President of the Senate, the other to be preserved by him for one year and shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection.
Third. On the day thereafter they shall forward by registered mail two of such certificates and lists to the Archivist of the United States at the seat of government, one of which shall be held subject to the order of the President of the Senate. The other shall be preserved by the Archivist of the United States for one year and shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection.
Fourth. They shall forthwith cause the other of the certificates and lists to be delivered to the judge of the district in which the electors shall have assembled.

Failure of certificates of electors to reach president of the senate or archivist of the united states; demand on state for certificate

§ 12. When no certificate of vote and list mentioned in sections 9 and 11 and of this title from any State shall have been received by the President of the Senate or by the Archivist of the United States by the fourth Wednesday in December, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held, the President of the Senate or, if he be absent from the seat of government, the Archivist of the United States shall request, by the most expeditious method available, the secretary of state of the State to send up the certificate and list lodged with him by the electors of such State; and it shall be his duty upon receipt of such request immediately to transmit same by registered mail to the President of the Senate at the seat of government.

Again, in my opinion, and I am no expert, it does looks like they do allow more time. Also, you can view 2008 Presidential Election Pamphlet

6. December 24, 2008
Deadline for Receipt of Electoral Votes at NARA:
• The President of the Senate and the Archivist should
have the electoral votes in hand by December 24, 2008. If votes are lost or delayed, the Archivist may take extraordinary measures to retrieve duplicate originals.

Same; demand on district judge for certificate

§ 13. When no certificates of votes from any State shall have been received at the seat of government on the fourth Wednesday in December, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held, the President of the Senate or, if he be absent from the seat of government, the Archivist of the United States shall send a special messenger to the district judge in whose custody one certificate of votes from that State has been lodged, and such judge shall forthwith transmit that list by the hand of such messenger to the seat of government.