Fraternity-Testvériség, 1964 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1964-09-01 / 9. szám
10 FRATERNITY The election takes place every four years on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. While the results are generally known by midnight of Election Day, the technical voting by the Electoral College does not occur until December, when, on a date fixed by federal law, the electors meet in their respective state capitals and formally cast their ballots. The candidates are formally elected when Congress counts the electoral votes from each state. As reviewed in Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, it has sometimes resulted that individual electors in the Electoral College have not functioned as the voters intended. In 1820, an elector voted against James Monroe; in 1956 an Alabama elector voted against Adlai Stevenson; and in 1960 an Oklahoma elector voted for Harry F. Byrd rather than Richard Nixon. In each instance, the elector broke his pledge to cast an electoral vote for a specified candidate, although his act of rebellion did not change the outcome. If no Presidential candidate receives a majority of the Electoral College, the 12th Amendment provides that the election shall be decided by Congress. The House of Representatives chooses the President by ballot from the three candidates with the highest Electoral College totals. Each state has one vote. A majority of votes is needed to win. The Senate selects the Vice President from the two candidates having the most electoral votes. The House has twice elected a President — Thomas Jefferson in 1800 and John Quincy Adams in 1824. The Senate elected one Vice President — Richard M. Johnson in 1837. WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF? History offers some interesting parallels. Now a historical buff has called the people’s attention to a strange set of coincidences regarding the assassinations of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Consider these facts: Lincoln was elected in 1860, Kennedy in 1960. Both were slain on a Friday, and in the presence of their wives. John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839, Lee Harvey Oswald in 1939. Booth and Oswald, both Southerners, favored unpopular ideas. Both were murdered before they could be brought to trial. Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and ran to a warehouse. Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and ran to a theater. Lincoln’s secretary, who was named Kennedy, urged him not to go to the theater where he was killed. Kennedy’s secretary, who was named Lincoln, urged him not to go to Dallas. The slain Presidents were succeeded by men named Johnson, both Southerners. Andrew Johnson was born in 1808; Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908. Both Johnsons served in the U. S. Senate before becoming Vice President. Further historical note: After serving out the remainder of Lincoln's term, Andrew Johnson was not elected President.
