Delaware’s Electors Cast Their Votes for President & Vice President of the United States
Image courtesy DSU
From Delaware – it’s Harris/Walz taking three votes. Electors in each state are meeting today to select the President and Vice President of the United States. Delaware’s three electors are Cassandra Marshall, Terri McIvor and Jane Hovington – and they met this morning at Delaware State University to cast the State’s three electoral votes for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz who won Delaware’s state-wide General Election in November with 56.6% of the popular vote. That win gives Harris/Walz all three of Delaware’s Electoral votes. Congress will meet in joint session on January 6th to count all the electoral votes.
Additional information from the Archives.gov:
Each state has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation. The political parties for each State choose the slate of potential electors before the General Election. During the General Election, voters in each State select their State’s electors by casting their ballots. Most states have a winner-take-all policy where the State looks only at the overall winner of the state-wide popular vote. (It is different for Maine and Nebraska) The winning Presidential candidate’s slate of potential electors are appointed as the State’s electors.
Image courtesy DSU
There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties. It is rare for electors to disregard the popular vote by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party’s candidate. Electors generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to recognize years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our history as a nation, more than 99 percent of electors have voted as pledged.
In Delaware, Presidential electors are selected by state convention or committee of the political parties. Parties must certify the names of the electors and alternate electors to the Secretary of State. The certificate must include a pledge from each elector and alternate elector agreeing to cast their electoral vote for the candidates for President and Vice President nominated by the political party they represent.
Following the canvass of state election results, the Superior Court must issue a certificate of election to the electors.
The certificate of ascertainment required to be submitted by the Governor under federal law must state that the electors will serve as electors unless a substitute is appointed to fill a vacancy.
The meeting of the electors takes place in Dover “on the day determined by Congress for that purpose.” The electors must cast their electoral vote for the candidates for President and Vice President nominated by the political party. If there is a vacancy at the meeting of the electors, including for refusal to vote in accordance with the elector pledge, the Secretary of State must appoint one of the alternate electors as a substitute.
Following the meeting of the electors, the Secretary of State must submit a certificate of vote, along with an amended certificate of ascertainment (if the final list of electors differs from the previously submitted list) in accordance with state and federal law.
(Del. Code Ann. tit. 15, §§ 3301, 4303, 4323, 4324, 4326, 5705).
