The truth about Montana when voting in a general election for President of the United States:

Each qualified political party shall nominate presidential electors for this state and file with the secretary of state certificates of nomination. Each political party qualified e shall submit to the secretary of state the names of two qualified individuals for each elector position in this state. One of the individuals must be designated as the elector nominee and the other must be designated as the alternate elector nominee. Each elector nominated by a political party shall execute the following pledge: “If selected for the position of elector, I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for president and vice president for the nominees of the political party that nominated me.” The executed pledges must accompany the submission of the corresponding names to the secretary of state under 13-25-101 (https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/13/25/13-25-101.htm).

The secretary of state shall preside at the meeting of the electors. The position of an elector not present to vote is considered vacant, and the secretary of state shall appoint an individual as a substitute elector as follows: (a) if the alternate elector is present to vote, by appointing the alternate elector for the vacant position; (b) if the alternate elector is not present to vote, by appointing an elector chosen by lot from among the alternate electors present to vote who are nominated by the same political party or unaffiliated presidential candidate; (c) if the number of alternate electors present to vote is insufficient to fill a vacant position pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), by appointing any immediately available individual who is qualified to serve as an elector and chosen through nomination by and plurality vote of the remaining electors, including nomination and vote by a single elector if only one remains; (d) if there is a tie between two nominees for substitute elector in a vote conducted under subsection (c), by appointing an elector chosen by lot from among those nominees; or (e) if all elector positions are vacant and cannot be filled pursuant to subsections (a) through (d), by appointing a single presidential elector, with remaining vacant positions to be filled pursuant to subsection (c) and, if necessary, subsection (d). To qualify as a substitute elector, an individual who has not executed the pledge required shall execute the following pledge: “I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for president and vice president consistent with the pledge of the individual to whose elector position I have succeeded.”

The electors shall meet in Helena at 2 p.m. on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following their election. After all vacant positions, have been filled pursuant, the secretary of state shall provide each elector with a presidential and a vice presidential ballot. The elector shall mark the elector’s presidential and vice presidential ballots with the elector’s vote for the office of president and vice president, respectively, along with the elector’s signature and the elector’s legibly printed name. Unless otherwise provided by law, each elector shall present both completed ballots to the secretary of state, who shall examine the ballots and accept as cast all ballots of electors whose votes are consistent with their pledges. Except as otherwise provided by law, the secretary of state may not accept and may not count either an elector’s presidential or vice presidential ballot if the elector has not marked both ballots or has marked a ballot in violation of the elector’s pledge. An elector who refuses to present a ballot, presents an unmarked ballot, or presents a ballot in violation of the elector’s pledge vacates the office of elector, creating a vacant position.

This other vote known as the electoral vote takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December in each of the fifty (50) states.  The time of day when the electors gather to conduct this vote may vary from state to state, but the electoral vote happens on the same day in every state, the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.  Another interesting point to mention: this electoral vote is weeks after we the people have already cast a so-called vote.

What happens to these electoral votes?  Each state has a certain number of electoral votes associated with their state.  There are a total of five-hundred and thirty-eight (538) electoral votes to be exact, and only a total of two-hundred and seventy (270) of these electoral votes are required to determine the person who will become President of the United States.

Knowing the number of electors associated with each of the States, it is mathematically possible to have only eleven (11) states determine who will become the President of the United States.

The following eleven states add up to the two-hundred and seventy (270) electoral votes needed to determine who becomes President of the United States:

California (55 electoral votes)
Texas (38 electoral votes)
New York (29 electoral votes)
Florida (29 electoral votes)
Illinois (20 electoral votes)
Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes)
Ohio (18 electoral votes)
Georgia (16 electoral votes)
Michigan (16 electoral votes)
North Carolina (15 electoral votes)
New Jersey (14 electoral votes)

This next fact may disappoint those of you who reside and vote in Montana.

If these eleven (11) states end up having their electoral votes casted for the same candidate, the remaining thirty-nine (39) states would not matter at all.  So… that vote you casted in the general election in November as a citizen… what was the purpose of your vote?  The answer: NOTHING (when these eleven states have an electoral outcome as such) !!!

The time is NOW to understand that our country does not have a voting process in place whereby every citizen who wants to cast a vote is able to cast a vote and to then have his or her vote be accurately counted towards choosing the person who will become the next President of the United States.