BARKLAGE TO CAST 8TH DISTRICT ELECTORAL VOTE

The decision by Cape Girardeans in the 8th Congressional District will be recorded as a whisper compared with Florida's recount and the counting of absentee ballots in western states.

As the Bush and Gore camps battle for Florida's 25 electoral votes, 8th District Republican elector David Barklage will deliver a vote for Texas Gov. George W. Bush for president in Jefferson City, Mo., on Dec. 18.

Bush won the popular election in Missouri with 50.4 percent of the vote, so under the winner-take-all system, he receives the state's 11 electoral college votes.

The system is used by 48 states and the District of Columbia. Nevada and Maine grant two electoral votes based on the statewide popular vote, and the rest through the popular vote within each congressional district.

Barklage said he is obligated to vote for Bush. This is not a surprising answer, as electors are appointed within states by the leaders of political parties based on their party loyalty.

Yet, the implication of the U.S. Constitution is that electors are free to cast their vote for the candidate they deem the most capable.

Barklage, a former Cape Girardeau city councilman, said this possibility will not be an issue for the 8th District.

"I swore, if elected, I would cast my vote for Bush; therefore, I am going to keep my word in that regard," he said.

States receive the number of electoral votes equal to the number of their seats in the U.S. House of Representatives -- which depends on the state's population -- and their two Senate seats.

Barklage's vote will be sealed with Missouri's 10 other electoral votes for Bush in duplicate packages.

The packages will be sent to the President of the U.S. Senate, the archivist of the United States, and other designated state and federal officials.

On Jan. 6, unless they vote to change this date, both houses of the U.S. Congress meet in a joint session to count the electoral votes.

The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says the winner is the candidate who receives a majority -- 50 percent-plus one -- of the electoral votes.

There are 538 electors, so it takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

The electoral college was intended by the framers of the Constitution as a compromise between having the U.S. President elected by Congress or by a popular vote.

The electoral system was also intended to protect the states with the smallest populations from being silenced by high-population states. Under the electoral system, every state is guaranteed a say, with a minimum of three votes.

ON THE WEB

The National Archives and Records Administration answers requently aked questions about the electoral college at

http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/faq.html