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A Dangerous Intersection: The Electoral College and the Fiscal Cliff (Nuclear Option in Ohio)
Jurist ^ | Novemeber 3, 2012 | Victor Williams

Posted on 11/05/2012 12:04:29 PM PST by eartotheground

The Ohio Hypo: GOP State Legislature Voids Election, Appoints Electors

"The most shocking Electoral College result, however, would be for a state legislature to take the selection of the state's electors away from the voters.

Swing state Ohio, with its 18 electors, makes for a good, worst-case hypothetical: assume that on the night of November 6, President Obama narrowly wins the popular vote in Ohio, which in turn gives him a small victory in the Electoral College tabulation (also assume all Obama-pledged electors remain faithful).

By high noon on Wednesday, November 7, the GOP majority in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate void the election results. The state legislature, through a simple joint-resolution, directly appoints the Romney-pledged slate of 18 electors. (In our hyper-partisan age, the hypothetical writes itself.)

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted and Treasurer Josh Mandel could aggressively support the elector appointment by alleging voter fraud, early vote irregularities and military vote suppression. Husted could proclaim that Ohio had taken back its electoral process from federal judicial control. Governor John Kasich (whose signature is not needed for the joint resolution), Senator Rob Portman and Representative John Boehner could each humbly defer to the will of their Ohio legislature. They would each rightly reference the US Constitution."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: election; electoralcollege; polls; romney
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To: onyx
better, huh !              :-)
21 posted on 11/05/2012 6:43:41 PM PST by tomkat ( PAlabama '12 = RR = 300 +)
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To: Gay State Conservative
But would the SCOTUS approve?

G-d! I can't believe how many weak-minded conservatives there are.

THE SUPREME COURT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE APPOINTMENT OR CERTIFICATION OF ELECTORS.

NOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHING.

Appointment of Electors, or the process for doing so, is the sole prerogative of State Legislatures (or Congress, in the case of DC).

NO GOVERNORS. NO PRESIDENT. NO COURTS.

Certification of the votes is the sole prerogative of a special Joint Session of Congress.

NO PRESIDENT. NO COURTS.

Bush v. Gore was nonjusticeable, and wrongly decided on top of that, and moved the brilliant Constitutional system another step closer to extinction.

If the Ohio Legislature were to appoint Ohio's electors, only the special Joint Session in January could say "no" - and it's very unlikely that they would do so.

22 posted on 11/05/2012 6:45:02 PM PST by Jim Noble (Diseases desperate grown are by desperate appliance relieved or not at all.)
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To: Jim Noble

ditto


23 posted on 11/06/2012 3:42:33 AM PST by eartotheground
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