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Q: But even though Gore won Florida, I guess it's too late to do anything about it, right?
A: No. There's still time. On Saturday, January 6, Congress must accept Florida's electoral state for the votes to be counted. Recall that in 1961, Hawaii's votes were also submitted in early January, and were counted.
Q: Yeah, but Gore's already conceded. Congress will never challenge the results.
A: Actually, Gore is REQUIRED BY LAW as President of the Senate (whether he likes it or not) to ask if there are any challenges to any State's electoral votes when he reads each state in alphabetical order. The entire procedure is laid out in detail under Federal Law. (3 USC Sect. 15)
Q: How many members of Congress does it take to make a challenge?
A: Two.
Q: Just two????
A: Yep. Only one Congressman/woman and one Senator.
Q: Then what happens?
A: Each House is required by law to debate the issue for 2 hours, then both sides must vote. If a majority vote to uphold the challenge in each House, Florida's votes aren't counted, and Gore wins by 267 to 246.
Q: I thought Gore needed 270 to win.
A: Nope. The Twelfth Amendment to the US Constitution only requires "a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed." If no Florida Electors are lawfully "appointed," Gore would just need a majority of the remaining 513 Electoral Votes.
Q: Have states ever been left out of the Electoral College before?
A: Yes. In 1864, President Lincoln was re-elected, even though eleven rebel Southern states did not send electoral votes to Washington, DC.
Q: So what is the standard for rejecting Florida's electoral slate?
A: The slate can be rejected if the electors have not been "lawfully certified." (3 USC Sect. 15)
Q: What does that mean?
A: That the electors must be chosen "under and in pursuance of the laws" of Florida. (3 USC 6)
Q: C'mon, lawyer. Get to the point.
A: If electors were not chosen based on Florida law as it existed on Election Day, then Florida's electoral vote can and should be challenged and not counted.
Q: What was Florida law on Election Day?
A: That the counties could use a variety of voting systems and a variety of counting systems, as long as they looked at the "totality of the circumstances" to determine the "intent of the voter."
Q: But the US Supreme Court held that was unconstitutional.
A: Exactly. (Continued on NEXT PAGE)
ACTIVIST ALERT: CHALLENGE FLORIDA ELECTORS:
CALL DEMOCRATIC SENATORS
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, TOO
E-MAIL FAXES TO SENATORS AND REPS (It's Easy!)
E-MAIL DEMOCRATIC SENATORS
E-MAIL DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVES
E-MAIL MEDIA
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