Electoral Proceedures by State, CO-ME

COLORADO - 9 Electoral Votes
State Law - § 1-4-304

SECTION 3.  1-4-304 (5), Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
        1-4-304.  Presidential electors. (5)  Each presidential elector shall vote for the pair of presidential CANDIDATE and, BY SEPARATE BALLOT, vice-presidential candidates CANDIDATE who received the highest number of votes at the preceding general election in this state.
We have a winner! Colorado comes closest to actually representing it's people. However, in this case the majority winner gets all of Colorado's votes, which isn't a reflection of the voter's will so much as a magnification of the majority will. This is exactly what opponenets of direct democracy claim that that electoral college prevents: a heavy handed majority count. Why bother using a system if it's going to cost more time and money and express the majority opinion in an inflated fashion?

Only one reason i can think of. To allow for slippage.

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CONNECTICUT - 7 Electoral Votes
State Law § 9-175

A good example of state law that contributes to the myth of the electoral college as an expression of democratic process can be seen in the Connecticut Confusion Code, a tiresome section of CN state law which states that "elector" means "voter" at the state level.

It does not at the Federal level. This is a classic red herring/grouse hunt, provided by a classic perpetuator of classic Western electoral tyranny. Remember, the colonial revolt was led by aristocrats with an agenda that did not have it's roots in the establishment of direct democracy but in the suplantation of local elitism for Imperial elitism.

I'm not going to bother including the text here, i'm still looking into this state's procedure.

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No Legal Requirement 
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate:
DELAWARE - 3 Electoral Votes
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - 3 Electoral Votes
DC Pledge / DC Law - § 1-1312(g)

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FLORIDA - 27 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - § 103.021(1)

Title IX   ELECTORS AND ELECTIONS
Chapter 103   PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS; POLITICAL PARTIES; EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES AND MEMBERS
103.021  Nomination for presidential electors.--Candidates for presidential electors shall be nominated in the following manner:
(1)  The Governor shall nominate the presidential electors of each political party. The state executive committee of each political party shall by resolution recommend candidates for presidential electors and deliver a certified copy thereof to the Governor before September 1 of each presidential election year. The Governor shall nominate only the electors recommended by the state executive committee of the respective political party. Each such elector shall be a qualified elector of the party he or she represents who has taken an oath that he or she will vote for the candidates of the party that he or she is nominated to represent. The Governor shall certify to the Department of State on or before September 1, in each presidential election year, the names of a number of electors for each political party equal to the number of senators and representatives which this state has in Congress.
(2)  The names of the presidential electors shall not be printed on the general election ballot, but the names of the actual candidates for President and Vice President for whom the presidential electors will vote if elected shall be printed on the ballot in the order in which the party of which the candidate is a nominee polled the highest number of votes for Governor in the last general election.
(3)  Candidates for President and Vice President with no party affiliation may have their names printed on the general election ballots if a petition is signed by 1 percent of the registered electors of this state, as shown by the compilation by the Department of State for the last preceding general election. A separate petition from each county for which signatures are solicited shall be submitted to the supervisor of elections of the respective county no later than July 15 of each presidential election year. The supervisor shall check the names and, on or before the date of the primary election, shall certify the number shown as registered electors of the county. The supervisor shall be paid by the person requesting the certification the cost of checking the petitions as prescribed in s. 99.097. The supervisor shall then forward the certificate to the Department of State which shall determine whether or not the percentage factor required in this section has been met. When the percentage factor required in this section has been met, the Department of State shall order the names of the candidates for whom the petition was circulated to be included on the ballot and shall permit the required number of persons to be certified as electors in the same manner as party candidates.
(4)(a)  A minor political party that is affiliated with a national party holding a national convention to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the United States may have the names of its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States printed on the general election ballot by filing with the Department of State a certificate naming the candidates for President and Vice President and listing the required number of persons to serve as electors. Notification to the Department of State under this subsection shall be made by September 1 of the year in which the election is held. When the Department of State has been so notified, it shall order the names of the candidates nominated by the minor political party to be included on the ballot and shall permit the required number of persons to be certified as electors in the same manner as other party candidates. As used in this section, the term "national party" means a political party established and admitted to the ballot in at least one state other than Florida.
(b)  A minor political party that is not affiliated with a national party holding a national convention to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the United States may have the names of its candidates for President and Vice President printed on the general election ballot if a petition is signed by 1 percent of the registered electors of this state, as shown by the compilation by the Department of State for the preceding general election. A separate petition from each county for which signatures are solicited shall be submitted to the supervisors of elections of the respective county no later than July 15 of each presidential election year. The supervisor shall check the names and, on or before the date of the primary election, shall certify the number shown as registered electors of the county. The supervisor shall be paid by the person requesting the certification the cost of checking the petitions as prescribed in s. 99.097. The supervisor shall then forward the certificate to the Department of State, which shall determine whether or not the percentage factor required in this section has been met. When the percentage factor required in this section has been met, the Department of State shall order the names of the candidates for whom the petition was circulated to be included on the ballot and shall permit the required number of persons to be certified as electors in the same manner as other party candidates.
(5)  When for any reason a person nominated or elected as a presidential elector is unable to serve because of death, incapacity, or otherwise, the Governor may appoint a person to fill such vacancy who possesses the qualifications required for the elector to have been nominated in the first instance. Such person shall file with the Governor an oath that he or she will support the same candidates for President and Vice President that the person who is unable to serve was committed to support.
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Florida has a "Party Pledge" electoral law, which in essence grants the two major parties the state's 27 electoral votes. Note: although it is implied that the electors are elected upon the count of the general ballot, it doesn't actually say that. The parties' internal committees provide nominees, and the Governor chooses from those lists. Then...magic happens, and this is called representative democracy.


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No Legal Requirement 
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate:
GEORGIA - 15 Electoral Votes

HAWAII - 4 Electoral Votes
State Law - §§ 14-26 to 14-28

PART II.  PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS
 
     §14-21  Nomination of presidential electors and alternates; certification; notification of nominees.  In each year when electors of president and vice president of the United States are to be chosen, each of the political parties or parties or groups qualified under section 11-113 shall hold a state party or group convention pursuant to the constitution, bylaws, and rules of the party or group; and nominate as candidates for its party or group as many electors, and a first and second alternate for each elector, of president and vice president of the United States as the State is then entitled.  The electors and alternates shall be registered voters of the State.  The names and addresses of the nominees shall be certified by the chairperson and secretary of the convention of the respective parties or groups and submitted to the chief election officer not later than 4:30 p.m. on the sixtieth day prior to the general election of the same year.  The chief election officer upon receipt thereof, shall immediately notify each of the nominees for elector and alternate elector of the nomination. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1973, c 217, §4(b); am L 1981, c 100, §2(1); gen ch 1993]

§14-22  Contested nominations of presidential electors and alternates.  If more than one certificate of choice and selection of presidential electors and alternate electors of the same political party or group is filed with the chief election officer, as chairperson of the contested presidential electors' committee hereby constituted, the chief election officer shall notify the state comptroller and attorney general, who are the remaining members of the committee, of the date, time, and place of the hearing to be held for the purposes of making a determination of which set of electors and alternative electors were lawfully chosen and selected by the political party or group.  Notice of the hearing shall be given to the chairperson of the state central committee of each political party and the chairperson of each party or group qualified under section 11-113, contestants for the positions of electors and alternate electors by written notice, and to all other interested parties by public notice at least once.  A determination shall be made by the committee by majority vote not later than 4:30 p.m. on October 30 of the same year and the determination shall be final.  Notice of the results shall be given to the nominees duly determined to have been chosen.  The committee shall have all the powers enumerated in section 11-43. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1973, c 217, §4(c); am L 1981, c 100, §2(2); gen ch 1993; am L 1998, c 2, §7]

     §14-23  Time for election, number to be chosen.  In each presidential election year there shall be elected at large, at the general election, by the voters of the State, as many electors and alternates of president and vice president of the United States as the State is then entitled to elect, in the manner provided under section 11-113.  The electors and the alternates must be registered voters of the State.  The election shall be conducted and the results thereof determined in conformity with the laws governing general elections except as otherwise provided. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1977, c 189, §3]

  §14-24  Certificate of election, notice of meeting.  Not later than 4:30 p.m. on the last day in the month of the election, or as soon as the returns have been received from all counties in the State, if received before that time, the chief election officer shall certify to the governor the names of the presidential electors and alternates of the same political party or group as the candidates for president and vice president receiving the highest number of votes as elected as presidential electors and alternates.  Thereupon the governor shall in accordance with the laws of the United States, communicate by registered mail under the seal of the State of Hawaii to the administrator of general services of the United States, the certificates of persons elected as presidential electors, setting forth the names of the electors and the total number of votes cast for each elector.  The chief election officer shall thereupon, together with a notice of the time and place of the meeting of the electors, cause to issue and transmit to each elector and alternate a certificate of election signed by the governor in substantially the following form:
 
CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION OF
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS
 
     I,...............Governor of the State of Hawaii, do hereby certify that..............., a member of the...............party or group, was on the...............day of..............., 19....., duly elected a Presidential Elector for the State of Hawaii for the presidential election of 19.....
 
CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION OF
ALTERNATE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTOR
 
     I,...............Governor of the State of Hawaii, do hereby certify that..............., a member of the...............party or group, was on the...............day of..............., 19....., duly elected...............Alternate Presidential Elector for Presidential Elector...............for the State of Hawaii for the presidential election of 19...... [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1973, c 217, §4(d); am L 1981, c 100, §2(3)]

     §14-25  Duties of the governor.  On or before the day of the meeting of the electors the governor shall deliver to the electors a list of the names of electors, and the governor shall perform any other duties relating to the presidential electors which are required of the governor by laws of the United States. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; gen ch 1985]

     §14-26  Assembly of electors at state capital; time.  The electors chosen shall assemble at the state capital on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following their election, at two o'clock in the afternoon. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2]

     §14-27  Filling vacancies of presidential electors.  In case of the death or absence of any elector chosen, or if the number of electors is deficient for any other reason, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the alternates in the order of their numerical designation for their respective electors causing the vacancy or vacancies, and in the event that vacancy or vacancies still exist, then the electors present shall select from the members of the same political party or group as many persons as will supply the deficiency.  Certificates for the alternates or substitutes as presidential electors shall be issued by the governor. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1981, c 100, §2(4)]

     §14-28  Convening and voting for president and vice president; party vote.  The electors, when convened, if both candidates are alive, shall vote by ballot for that person for president and that person for vice president of the United States, who are, respectively, the candidates of the political party or group which they represent, one of whom, at least, is not an inhabitant of this State. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1981, c 100, §2(5)]

     §14-29  Naming persons voted for in ballots, separate ballots.  The electors shall name in their ballots the person voted for as president, and in separate ballots the person voted for as vice president. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2]

     §14-30  Lists of persons voted for and number of votes, certification, transmission to president of the senate.  The electors shall separately list the persons voted for as president and as vice president, respectively, and the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign, certify, seal, and transmit by mail, one copy to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the senate of the United States, and make such other disposition of the lists as required by law. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2]

     §14-31  Compensation and mileage of electors, amounts.  Each presidential elector shall receive $50 for the elector's services, plus the reasonable cost of transportation from the elector's voting residence in the State to the state capital and return.  Their accounts shall be certified to by the chief election officer and audited by the state comptroller, and shall be payable out of the general fund. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; gen ch 1985] 


What's the beef, bra?

   §14-28  Convening and voting for president and vice president; party vote.  The electors, when convened, if both candidates are alive, shall vote by ballot for that person for president and that person for vice president of the United States, who are, respectively, the candidates of the political party or group which they represent, one of whom, at least, is not an inhabitant of this State. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1981, c 100, §2(5)]

There's your democratic principle at work, Mr. Washington.

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No Legal Requirement 
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate:

IDAHO - 4 Electoral Votes 
ILLINOIS - 21 Electoral Votes 
INDIANA - 11 Electoral Votes 
IOWA - 7 Electoral Votes 
KANSAS - 6 Electoral Votes 
KENTUCKY - 8 Electoral Votes 
LOUISIANA - 9 Electoral Votes


MAINE - 4 Electoral Votes
State Law - § 805

Title 21-A: ELECTIONS
  Chapter 9: CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS
    Subchapter 5: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS
      
§805. Convention duties

    The duties of the presidential electors in convention are as follows. [1985, c. 161, §6 (new).]


      1. Separate ballots. When convened as required by section 804, the presidential electors shall each cast separate ballots for President and Vice President, at least one of whom must not be a resident of this State.[1985, c. 161, §6 (new).]


      2. Presidential electors. The presidential electors at large shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the largest number of votes in the State. The presidential electors of each congressional district shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the largest number of votes in each respective congressional district.[1985, c. 161, §6 (new).]


      3. Certificate prepared and sent. The presidential electors shall make and subscribe to 6 certificates containing the number of votes cast separately for President and Vice President. They shall attach one of the lists of electors furnished them by the Governor to each certificate. They shall seal each certificate and attached list in an envelope stating that a certificate of the votes of this State for President and Vice President is contained inside.[1985, c. 161, §6 (new).]


      4. Envelope sent immediately.[1989, c. 166, §7 (rp).]


      4-A. Certificates sent immediately. The presidential electors shall send immediately by registered mail one certificate to the President of the Senate of the United States and 2 certificates to the Archivist of the United States in Washington, D.C. The presidential electors shall deliver 2 certificates to the Secretary of State, who shall hold one of them subject to the order of the President of the Senate of the United States and shall retain the other for public inspection for one year. The presidential electors shall deliver one certificate to the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine.[1989, c. 166, §8 (new).]


      5. Envelope sent next day.[1989, c. 166, §9 (rp).]


Maine turns out to be as faithfully representative as Colorado, both of whom surpass all others so far.