No change of plans: Electors vote Obama

Votes sent to Cheney, who declares winner after Congress counts ballots Jan. 6

There was little left to chance at yesterday's gathering of Maryland's electors. The ballots recording their choice of Barack Obama for president and Joe Biden for vice president were printed in advance and affixed with the state seal. The sheet cake in the hallway was adorned in blue and red icing depicting the Obama logo and the slogan "Yes We Did!"

But what the event lacked in suspense - Obama won, for the record - it made up for in emotion. Schoolchildren had the 10 electors sign their programs, and the elaborate ritual of swearing in the electors, the roll call and certification of the vote, as well as the sealing of the ballots, lent an air of occasion to the convening of the state's representatives to the Electoral College.

U.S. law dictates that the electors in each state meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December after an election. The results are then sent to the office of the vice president and the National Archives. Congress will meet in joint session Jan. 6 to count the electoral votes. Vice President Dick Cheney, as president of the U.S. Senate, will announce the result and declare the winners. Obama is expected to receive more than the required 270 electoral votes.

"I expect that as time moves on, the millions of people who voted for Barack Obama in November will increase, as stories are told to children and grandchildren that they were there voting for Barack Obama when change was made for America," said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, who was among the dignitaries present. "But in reality, there are only 10 people in Maryland who can say that they really voted for Barack Obama."

The electors are chosen by the Maryland Democratic Party, eight to represent each of the state's congressional districts and one for each senator. Seven electors are men, and three were women. Six are white, three are African-American, and one is Asian-American.

It was a day for American flag ties and ceremonial pens. The votes were cast in a conference room in the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis. Normally, the grander State House would be the setting. But with renovations under way, the State House does not have an occupancy permit, and the electors would have had to wear hard hats, somewhat detracting from the dignity of the event.