Knowing Your Electors

The past month of election fallout has involved a lot of conversation examining the function of the Electoral College, and whether or not it promotes or undermines democracy. Considering how much power members of the Electoral College wield in determining the next president, people have been wondering how to reach out to them. It's worth wondering, are the electors' names public?

The short answer is yes, the names of the electors chosen by each state are not hidden and generally accessible to the public. In fact, Politico has published a list of all of their names this year. However, technically, the names of the 538 U.S. electors aren't confirmed and made publicly available until after the general presidential election results have been revealed and it's clear which party's electors will be voting for the state.

The process of selecting and confirming electors is pretty straightforward: before the general election, the political parties from each state picks a slate of potential electors. After the general election votes are counted and the President-elect is announced, each state confirms the pledged electors who pick the president based on their party affiliation and which candidate won that state. So, the states that voted majority blue then officially pledge the Democrat electors, and the states that voted majority red pledge the Republican electors.

Once the electors are confirmed in each state, their names and the amount of votes their pledged candidate received are entered into Certificates of Ascertainment which can be accessed by the general public.

However, you don't necessarily have to wait until November to get the lowdown on your electors. Anyone curious about who their states' electors are that don't want to wait until after election season can directly contact the District of Columbia or their state on the National Association of State Election Directors website.

Each state handles the sharing of electors' names differently. There are some states that publicly share the list of potential electors before Election Day. Others wait to share the names until Election Day and include the names of candidate electors on the voting ballots. The best way to get the full details of your individual state's electoral process is to either contact your governor through the National Governors Association website, or contact your Secretary of State through the National Association of Secretaries of State website in order to learn more about the people who will formally cast a vote for president from your state.

Whether or not your state has shifted to the political leanings of your liking, it only makes sense to pursue a basic knowledge of the people representing our votes on Dec. 19. After all, the next four years is hanging on their votes.