Count By State

Each state is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators plus the number of its U.S. Representatives. Thus, Ohio has 21 Electors.

The political parties or independent candidates in each state submit to the state's chief election official a list of individuals pledged to their candidate for president and equal in number to the state's electoral vote. Members of Congress and employees of the federal government are prohibited from serving as Electors.

In most states, whichever presidential slate wins the most popular votes in the state becomes the state's Electors. Accordingly, in most states, the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in the state wins all of the Electors of that state. A few states have a proportional system for choosing Electors in which Electors are chosen based on the percentage of votes received by the presidential candidate to whom they are pledged.

On the Monday following the second Wednesday of December, each state's Electors meet in their respective State capitols and cast their electoral votes - one for President and one for Vice-President. In order to prevent Electors from voting only for "favorite sons" of their home state, only one of these votes may be for a person from within their state. The electoral votes are then sealed and transmitted from each state to the President of the U.S. Senate who, early in January, opens and reads them before both houses of Congress.

The candidate for President with the most electoral votes, provided that it is an absolute majority of the electoral votes for President, is declared President. Similarly, the candidate for Vice-President with the absolute majority of electoral votes is declared Vice-President.

If no candidate for President has an absolute majority, the House of Representatives chooses a President from the top three candidates, with all representatives from each state combining to cast one vote for that state.  The House decided the outcome of the 1800 and 1824 presidential elections.  If no candidate for vice president has a majority of electoral votes, the U.S. Senate chooses from the top two, with senators voting as individuals.  The Senate chose the vice president following the 1836 election.

At noon on January 2Oth, the duly elected President and Vice-President are sworn into office.

Adapted from William C. Kimberling, " Electing the President: The Genius of the Electoral College", The FEC Journal of Election Administration, Vol. 15, pp. 12-20.  Also, from The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1999.

Historical Note:

This occasion marks the 50th meeting of the Ohio Electoral College. Ohio became a State in 1803 and consequently did not participate in the U.S. Electoral Colleges of 1788 (Washington); 1792 (Washington); 1796 (Adams); 1800 (Jefferson).

Section 3505.39
General Assembly: 102
Bill Number: Amended. House Bill 708
Effective Date: 09/16/57


The secretary of state shall immediately upon the completion of the canvass of election returns mail to each presidential elector so elected a certificate of his election and shall notify him to attend, at a place in the state capitol which the secretary of state shall select, at twelve noon on the day designated by the congress of the United States, a meeting of the state's presidential electors for the purpose of discharging the duties enjoined on them by the constitution of the United States. The secretary of state, ten days prior to such meeting, shall by letter remind each such elector of the meeting to be held for casting the vote of the state for president and vice-president of the United States. Each such elector shall give notice to the secretary of state before nine a.m. of that day whether or not he will be present at the appointed hour ready to perform his duties as a presidential elector. If at twelve noon at the place selected by the secretary of state presidential electors equal in number to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may at the time be entitled in the congress of the United States, are not present, the presidential electors present shall immediately proceed, in the presence of the governor and secretary of state, to appoint by ballot such number of persons to serve as presidential electors so that the number of duly elected presidential electors present at such time and place plus the presidential electors so appointed shall be equal in number to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state is at that time entitled in the congress of the United States; provided, that each such appointment shall be made by a separate ballot, and that all appointments to fill vacancies existing because duly elected presidential electors are not present shall be made before other appointments are made, and that in making each such appointment the person appointed shall be of the same political party as the duly elected presidential elector whose absence requires such appointment to be made. In case of a tie vote the governor shall determine the results by lot. The electors making such appointments shall certify forthwith to the secretary of state the names of the persons so appointed and the secretary of state shall immediately issue to such appointees certificates of their appointment and notify them thereof. All of the state's presidential electors, both those duly elected who are then present and those appointed as herein provided, shall then meet and organize by electing one of their number as chairman and by designating the secretary of state as ex officio secretary and shall then and there discharge all of the duties enjoined upon presidential electors by the constitution and laws of the United States. Each presidential elector shall receive ten dollars for each day's attendance in Columbus as such and mileage at the rate of ten cents per mile for the estimated distance by the usual route from his place of residence to Columbus. Such compensation and mileage shall be upon vouchers issued by the secretary of state, and shall be paid by the treasurer of state out of the general fund.

Paid for by:      Mercer County Republican Party  -  Jeff Hazel, Treasurer   302 S. Ash Street    Celina, Ohio  45822