THE JEENYUS CORNER
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In the event November’s presidential election is a squeaker, Mitt Romney may be down two or more Electoral College votes from members of his own party.

Because of the archaic voting system used in the United States, voters do not actually vote for a candidate, but for a slate of state electors who are pledged to vote for that candidate if he or she wins the state. In most states, these electors are not legally required to vote for the candidate who won the state. In fact, there have been 87 instances in which an elector refused to vote for the presidential or vice-presidential candidate he or she was supposed to.

Two supporters of Ron Paul have said publicly they may not vote for Romney in the Electoral College in December. They, and others, have expressed frustration with party leaders over what they said were heavy-handed attempts throughout the campaign and the convention to deny Paul the nomination.

The two Paul supporters considering not voting for Romney are Ken Eastman of Nevada and Billie Zimmerman of Texas.

In addition, another Nevada elector, Ken Searles, says he may vote for Paul as a protest, but only if his vote doesn’t change the outcome of the election. And Kathleen Miller of Alaska plans to vote for Romney but said she might change her mind if GOP leaders engage in more “shenanigans.”

One defector, Melinda Wadsley from Iowa, resigned rather than vote for Romney. “They’ve never given Ron Paul a fair shot, and I’m disgusted with that. I’d like to show them how disgusted I am,” Wadsley told the Associated Press.

The last time a Republican elector switched his vote was 1976, when Mike Padden of Washington voted for Ronald Reagan instead for Gerald Ford.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

SOURCE

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