Professors discuss what
ifs
Electoral College can
make decision with,
without Florida
By Laura Pelner
Assistant
City Editor
Even if the results of Florida’s ballot recount
are not released soon, Purdue political science professors say a president
will be chosen before the New Year.
William McLauchlan, an associate professor of political
science, said that in the most extreme scenario, Florida would not send
its electors on Dec. 18 when the rest of the states submit their vote.
"There’s gonna be an Electoral College
vote cast with or without Florida or any other states that choose not
to certify (a winner in their state)," said McLauchlan. "Then
the only question is whether or not either of the candidates gets the
majority. The candidate who gets a majority of the electoral votes cast
will win."
William Shaffer, the head of the political science
department, agreed with McLauchlan. "If, somehow, Florida was in
permanent limbo, you could have an Electoral College do its business
without Florida," said Shaffer.
The Electoral College is the body that casts the
final vote for president and elects the winner. Members of the college
represent the political party of the candidate who won in a given state
and are expected to vote according to their party affiliation.
Shaffer said it’s rare that a state does not
send its electoral voters, and he does not think it will happen this
year either. "It’s not happened a lot. We haven’t had
(it happen) since the 19th century. I think somebody will win Florida,"
said Shaffer.
If Florida did not send its electors, then the
state's 25 electoral votes would be eliminated and there would be a
total of 513 electoral votes. A candidate would then need 257 electoral
votes to get the majority. That’s 13 votes less than the 270 electoral
votes usually needed to win in the Electoral College, which has a total
of 538.
As of Monday, Vice President Al Gore had 262 votes
compared to Texas Gov. George W. Bush's 246. That's not including the
electoral votes from either Florida or New Mexico, which has five.
In addition to the idea of Florida not sending
its electors, other theories about what could happen have circulated
recently. One possibility was that if a president was not named by Jan.
20 — Inauguration Day — the speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert,
would take over.
If Hastert did not want the position, which some
say is possible because he would not have much political power, then
the Senate President, Strom Thurmond, who will turn 98 on Dec. 5, will
take over until the election is resolved.
McLauchlan said there is no merit to these different
hypothetical situations. "There will be a president," he said.
McLauchlan said that the media are helping circulate
these theories. "These are great headlines and great stories. It’s
not going to happen except for the fact that the media is making it
happen," said McLauchlan.
Shaffer said the delay in naming a president might
hurt the winner. "Whoever wins may not go in under the best of
circumstances," said Shaffer.
When the results are finally announced, Shaffer
said he does not think the public will have a hard time accepting the
outcome. "The people will say ‘this is a close election, this
is the resolution, we can accept that. We may not like his (the winner’s)
policy but we have to accept it.’"
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