FROM THE NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   December 6, 2000
Contact: Judy Hohmann, (518) 474-6926
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The Workings of New York's Electoral College

        ALBANY --  How much is the fine if the results of New York's Electoral College meeting are not in Washington by deadline? In what year did more than 25 percent of the electors not show up? What New York Governor certified the electors who would ultimately cast votes for him to become president?
        Answers to these and other questions about the workings of New York's Electoral College can be found at www.archives.nysed.gov, the website of the New York State Archives, a program of the State Education Department.
        "Viewing the Electoral College Through Historical Records," the title of the web page, includes details about how the Electoral College operates as well as images of actual documents that are used in its proceedings. In the "Electoral College Procedures" section, readers will learn that the results of the balloting are sent to the Archivist of the United States and if he does not receive them within nine days of the Electoral College vote, there will be a fine of  $1,000.
        Six elections are featured on the web site:1932, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1976, and 1992. The following documents and explanations are shown:
· Certificate of Ascertainment - Signed by the Governor, this document certifies the electors selected by the voters.  In 1932 Franklin Roosevelt certified the electors who voted for him to be President.
· Certificate of Electors - This form records the names of any absent electors and the individuals who subsitute for them. In 1968, over 25 percent of electors never showed up for the meeting.
· Ballots - The actual ballots used by electors to cast their vote. Designs vary greatly.
· Certificate of Vote --  A record of the number of electoral votes received by each candidate.
        This Electoral College web page represents a small portion of the Electoral College records that are kept at the New York State Archives in Albany.  Gary Bugh, who teaches political science at the University at Albany and is an invitational scholar at the State Archives, researched and developed the web page.
 The invitational scholar program is supported by private contributions to the Archives Partnership Trust. Created by the Legislature in 1992, the Trust is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization dedicated to sustaining the excellence of the State Archives.
The Archives, with over 130 million documents in its collection, preserves and makes accessible the essential recorded evidence - past and present - of New York's governments, organizations, peoples and events. The Archives Research Room is located on the eleventh floor of the Cultural Education Center on Madison Avenue in Albany and is open Monday - Friday, 9-5.