O Happy Day

/ dave / arouet at winternet.com
Wed Dec 13 17:59:57 PST 2000


What many seem to have overlooked is that the possibility, however remote, still exists for turncoat members of the Electoral College to throw things into further confusion in a week.

Unlikely? If I remember correctly, most states do not mandate that electors are bound by their pledges to one or the other party, and there have been enough instances of electors voting for different candidates in past elections to raise the possibility that it potentially could occur again, especially given the crazy circumstances of this race. While the present situation will likely provoke many electors to higher levels of partisan fervor as they fall in lock-step behind their candidate of choice, the situation would seem to be ripe for a disaffected elector or two, pondering the weight of his or her action the night before, to switch allegiances in the interest of a perceived greater good.

In truth it would appear that at least two electors would have to make this decision for it to affect the outcome, but in the unprecedented conditions we're witnessing, and in the age of email (you can bet the discussions between potential electors in the various locales are flying fast and furious at this point, no doubt right up to the end), anything would seem possible. So, notwithstanding the speech Gore is about to make in 1 /1/2 minutes time, I say it's still a coin toss.

Here are some stories of past electoral 'turncoats' to ponder:

http://www.avagara.com/e_c/ec_unfaithful.htm

--

/ dave /



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