Editing United States Electoral College (section)

==== Selection process ====
[[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 2: Method of choosing electors|Article II, Section 1, Clause 2]] of the Constitution requires each state legislature to determine how electors for the state are to be chosen, but it disqualifies any person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, from being an elector.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/ClevelandPlainDealer10-29-2004.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710171414/http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/ClevelandPlainDealer10-29-2004.pdf|archive-date=July 10, 2011|title=Brown learns he can't serve as Kerry elector, steps down|publisher=Cleveland Plain Dealer (reprint at Edison Research)|author=Sabrina Eaton|date=October 29, 2004|access-date=January 3, 2008}}</ref> Under [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Participants in rebellion|Section{{nbsp}}3 of the Fourteenth Amendment]], any person who has sworn an [[oath]] to support the United States Constitution in order to hold either a state or federal office, and later rebelled against the United States directly or by giving assistance to those doing so, is disqualified from being an elector. Congress may remove this disqualification by a two-thirds vote in each house.

All states currently choose presidential electors by popular vote. As of 2020, eight states{{Efn|Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee|name=|group=}} name the electors on the ballot. Mostly, the "short ballot" is used. The short ballot displays the names of the candidates for president and vice president, rather than the names of prospective electors.<ref>{{cite book|author=Darrell J. Kozlowski|title=Federalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KR7VxjvSod8C|year=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-60413-218-2|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KR7VxjvSod8C&pg=PA33 33–34]}}</ref> Some states support voting for [[write-in candidate]]s. Those that do may require pre-registration of write-in candidacy, with designation of electors being done at that time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Write-in Votes |url=https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2020/Feature_stories/write-ins.html |access-date=August 3, 2020 |website=[[electoral-vote.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/write-in-votes/|title= Planning to write in Paul Ryan or Bernie Sanders? It won't count in most states.|date=November 3, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Since 1992, all but two states have followed the {{nowrap|[[Plurality voting|winner takes all]]}} method of allocating electors by which every person named on the slate for the ticket winning the statewide popular vote are named as presidential electors.<ref name=fairvote20180801 /><ref>{{cite web|title=About the Electors|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html|work=U.S. Electoral College|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 2, 2018}}</ref>

[[Maine]] and [[Nebraska]] are the only states not using this method.<ref name="ecollege">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.fairvote.org/e_college/me_ne.htm|title=The Electoral College – Maine and Nebraska|publisher=FairVote|access-date=November 16, 2011|archive-date=October 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012191923/http://archive.fairvote.org/e_college/me_ne.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In those states, the winner of the popular vote in each of its [[List of United States congressional districts|congressional districts]] is awarded one elector, and the winner of the statewide vote is then awarded the state's remaining two electors.<ref name=fairvote20180801>{{cite web|title=Maine & Nebraska|url=http://www.fairvote.org/maine_nebraska|website=FairVote|location=Takoma Park, Maryland|access-date=August 1, 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802041058/http://www.fairvote.org/maine_nebraska|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Split Electoral Votes in Maine and Nebraska |url=https://www.270towin.com/content/split-electoral-votes-maine-and-nebraska/ |access-date=August 1, 2018 |website=[[270 to Win]] |publisher=}}</ref> This method has been used in Maine since 1972 and in Nebraska since 1992. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] previously upheld the power for a state to choose electors on the basis of congressional districts, holding that states possess [[plenary power]] to decide how electors are appointed in ''[[McPherson v. Blacker]]'', {{ussc|146|1|1892}}.

The Tuesday following the first Monday in November has been fixed as the day for holding federal elections, called the [[Election Day (United States)|Election Day]].<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|3|1}} A uniform national date for presidential elections was not set until 1845, although the Congress always had constitutional authority to do so. — Kimberling, William C. (1992) [http://www.fec.gov/pdf/eleccoll.pdf ''The Electoral College'', p. 7]</ref> After the election, each state prepares seven Certificates of Ascertainment, each listing the candidates for president and vice president, their pledged electors, and the total votes each candidacy received.<ref name="electcollinstr">{{cite web|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|title=Electoral College Instructions to State Officials|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/resources/state-officials-instructions.pdf|access-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2024}} One certificate is sent, as soon after Election Day as practicable, to the [[Archivist of the United States|National Archivist]] in Washington. The Certificates of Ascertainment are mandated to carry the state seal and the signature of the governor, or [[Mayor of the District of Columbia|mayor]] of D.C.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010723/http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2012-certificates/pdfs/ascertainment-washington-dc.pdf District of Columbia Certificate of Ascertainment] (archived from [https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2012-certificates/pdfs/ascertainment-washington-dc.pdf the original] on 2006-03-05)</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2024}}