: As we all learned in our history class the President is
: elected
: by the electoral college. The following should never happen,
: right!. My question is this, What would happen if the
: Electoral college elects one candidate for President and
: the other candidate is elected by popular vote. I was
: watching a show where
: GOV. VENTURA was speaking at a University and raised the
: question. A situtation, idf it ever happened, would
: probably have to be decided by the U.S. SUPREME COURT

: IT GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!!!!!
: SCAVENGER

It happened seveeral times during the 19th century. The candidate with the electoral college majority is the winner, period. The total popular vote has no legal significance. It would not go to the Supreme Court, because the issue is settled.

Here in New York State, Al Gore has about a 15-point lead over G.W. Bush, he leads 50% to 35% according to the latest polls. The fact that Bush is leading nationally is irrelevant. So if I were to vote for Bush, it wouldn't really help him, since the state's 41 (?) electoral votes will go to Gore anyway. Therefore, I feel safe in voting for Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party candidate. As a member of the LP, I want to see him get as many votes as possible. But if the polls showed the presidential race in New York to be close, meaning there was a realistic chance that Gore could be denied the state's electoral votes, then I would cast my vote for Bush in an effort to do so.