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7th District Elector Relishes Pivotal Role of Electoral College
Electoral College Elector Vic Battson. |
These are some of the anomalies staring voters in the face as we plod through this distressing time with no president-elect.
Battson, the Democratic Party Electoral College Elector for the 7th Congressional District, told The Seattle Press that Strom Thurmond could be elected if there were a tie in the Electoral College. In that case, the House of Representatives would pick the President, and the Senate the Vice-President. If they don't elect somebody by January 2, then the Speaker of the House, Illinois Congressman Dennis Hastert, and the President Pro Tem of the Senate, Mr. Thurmond, would be elected, respectively, President and Vice-President of the U.S. Then if anything happened to Hastert....
Legally, Battson can vote for anybody he wants to when he casts his ballot on December 18. As an elector, Battson is not bound to vote for his party's standard-bearer, Al Gore, even though he was chosen by his fellow Democratic Party members to vote on their behalf.
Not that he has plans to vote for anyone other than Gore. "I'm definitely voting for Al Gore," Battson says, but he likes to point out some of the quirks of our electoral system, which is getting more public scrutiny this year than at any time in the past century.
Battson won the elector job when the 7th Congressional District Democrats gathered last spring to choose delegates to the Democratic National Convention. A delegate slot is a political plum--one becomes eligible through years of slogging away in the precincts, manning phone banks, and attending banquets in VFW halls. When Battson lost out in his race for convention delegate, he decided to run for elector, which, at the time, didn't seem to be a very interesting or demanding job. Who knew?
Battson, an appraiser in the King County Assessor's office, is chair of the 36th District Democratic Party. The 36th turns out more Democratic votes per capita than any other political subdivision in the nation.
Battson is keeping close tabs on the Florida recount. The more turmoil and uncertainty coming out of Florida, Battson feels, the more important his role becomes. And he doesn't take his responsibility lightly.
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