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

The state convention shall nominate, in the years when a President of the United States is to be elected, presidential electors. Nominations by a state convention shall be made by a majority vote of the votes cast and shall be certified to the secretary of state by the officers of the convention

The electors of President and vice president shall, at twelve noon on the day which is or may be directed by the Congress of the United States, meet at the seat of government of this state and then and there perform the duties enjoined upon them by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Each elector of President and vice president of the United States shall, before the hour of eleven o’clock in the morning of the day fixed by the act of Congress to elect a President and vice president, give notice to the Governor that he is at the seat of government and ready at the proper time to perform the duties of an elector; and the Governor shall forthwith deliver to the electors present a certificate of all the names of the electors.

If any elector named in the Governor’s certificate fails to appear before nine o’clock in the morning of the day of election of President and vice president as aforesaid, the electors there present shall immediately proceed to elect by ballot, in the presence of the Governor, a person to fill such vacancy. If more than one person voted for to fill such vacancy shall have the highest and an equal number of votes, the Governor, in the presence of the electors attending, shall decide by lot which of such persons shall be elected.

Immediately after such choice is made, the name of the person so chosen shall forthwith be certified to the Governor by the electors making such choice; and the Governor shall cause notice to be immediately given, in writing, to the elector chosen to fill such vacancy; and the person so chosen shall be an elector and shall meet the other electors at the same time and place, and then and there discharge all and singular the duties enjoined upon him as an elector by the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state.

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 South Dakota.

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.