Editor:
Voting by aliens: 18 U.S. Code 611 (a), “It shall be unlawful for any alien to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives...”
The United States is not a democracy; it is a republic. The representatives and senators of each state are elected democratically by popular vote.
However, the president and vice president are elected by the Electoral College as specified in the United States Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2: “Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”
Clause 3: “The Electors shall meet in their respective State and vote by ballot for two persons.” The 12th Amendment to the Constitution requires the Electors from each state’s winning party to cast one vote for the president and another vote for the vice president.
The electors from the party receiving the most votes met on Dec. 19, 2016, and cast their ballots for the presidential and vice presidential candidates. Clinton received 232 votes and Trump received 306 votes.
California’s 55 Democratic electors cast their votes for the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates. The United States Congress will meet in joint session Jan. 6, 2017, to count and certify the Electoral College votes and the election of the Republican president and vice president. This electoral process was designed to prevent dominance of the United States by a few heavily populated states. The electoral process worked.
William R. Faurot
Idyllwild
