Who are the people in the electoral college?

Question

& who owns them serious answers pls no BS

Answer 1

The present allotment of electors by state is shown in the article List of U.S. states by population.

The size of the electoral college has been set at 538 since the election of 1964. Each state is allocated as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress. Since the most populous states have the most seats in congress, they also have the most electors. The states with the most are California (55), followed by Texas (34) and New York (31). The smallest states by population, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, have three electors each. Because the number of representatives for each state is determined decennially by the United States Census, the electoral votes for each state are also determined by the Census every ten years. The number of electors is equal to the total membership of both houses of Congress (100 Senators and 435 Representatives) plus additional electors allocated to the District of Columbia totalling 538 electors. A candidate must receive a majority of votes from the electoral college (currently 270) to win the Presidency, If no one receives a majority, the election is determined by Congress (the House for presidential candidates, the Senate for vice presidential candidates).

Under the 23rd Amendment, the District of Columbia is allocated as many Electors as it would have if it were a state, except that it cannot have more Electors than the least populous state. The least populous state (currently Wyoming) has 3 Electors, so the District cannot have more than 3 Electors. If the least populous state had 4 Electors, however, the District would be entitled to a maximum of 4 Electors. At its current population, however, it would remain at 3 because it is not nearly as large as any of the states that receive 4 Electors.


[edit] How states currently select electors
Presidential elector candidates are nominated by their state political parties in the summer before the Election Day. Each state provides its own means for the nomination of electors. In some states, such as Oklahoma, the Electors are nominated in primaries the same way that other candidates are nominated. Other states, such as Virginia and North Carolina, nominate electors in party conventions. In Pennsylvania, the campaign committees of the candidates name their candidates for Presidential Elector (an attempt to discourage faithless Electors). All states require the names of all Electors to be filed with the Secretary of State (or equivalent) at least a month prior to election day.

On election day, voters cast ballots for slates of Presidential Electors pledged to the candidates for president and vice president. In most states, the candidates that win the popular vote have their entire slate of Electors elected. At the time of the state canvass of the vote, the Secretary of State (or equivalent) signs a special form called the Certificate of Ascertainment which sets forth the people elected to the office of Presidential Elector, along with the number of votes cast for every party's slate of Elector nominees. These Certificates of Ascertainment are forwarded to the Office of the Vice President to be used to verify that the people who cast the electoral votes are in fact the people who were elected for that purpose.

Two states do not elect the Presidential Electors as a single slate. Maine and Nebraska elect two electors by a statewide ballot and choose their remaining Electors by congressional district. The method has been used in Maine since 1972 and Nebraska since 1991, though neither has split its electoral votes in modern elections.

Answer 2

I'm a graduate of the electoral college. Although it took me 8 years to graduate, I DID put the right man in office in 2000 and 2004! I will also attend the electoral college again in 2008, so be very nice to me!

Answer 3

Each party nominates a group of electors to represent them should their candidate get the highest number of (popular) votes in their state. Usually, these are party officials, ones who it is known will vote for the party's candidate. When you're voting for president, you're actually voting for that candidate's group of electors. Thus, there is no set group making motions behind the curtains that is the Electoral College.

Answer 4

Local political contributors who are placed on the ballot to support the party of the candidate who wins the popular vote in a precinct.

Owned? Responsible to the party they pledge to support. When the rubber hits the road, they can vote to support whomever they choose.