The 2008 election isn’t quite over. The Electoral College from each state begins meeting today at their respective capitols to finalize the November results.
A press release sent Monday morning from Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson:
HELENA – Montana’s delegates to the Electoral College will meet today at 2:00 PM in room 317 of the state capitol.
The Electoral College is the body created by the U.S. Constitution to implement voting for President and Vice President. In the November general election, voters actually elect delegates to the Electoral College who are required to vote for the candidate who received the highest number of votes.
Since John McCain and Sarah Palin won Montana in the November 4, 2008 election, the Electoral College delegates for this meeting will be Errol Galt of Martinsdale, Thelma Baker of Missoula, and John Brenden of Scobey.
The electors will cast ballots and transmit them to the U.S. Congress for counting.
The Wall Street Journal explains the rest:
After Monday’s signing, the certificates will be mailed to Vice President Dick Cheney as president of the Senate; the National Archives; each state’s secretary of state; and the chief judge of the nearest federal court, just in case all the others are lost. That leaves two more steps in the election cycle. Mr. Cheney will open the certificates before a joint session of Congress at 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, and Mr. Obama will be sworn in at noon on Jan. 20.
And then it will be over.
Finally.