The date on which this piece is intended for first posting on this website,
March 4th, is the date on which- for 140 years, from George Washington s Second Inauguration in 1793 through Franklin Delano Roosevelt s First in 1933- Presidents of the United States, every four years until the 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution first took effect (36 times in all)- took the Oath of Office prescribed in Article II, Section 1, clause 8 of Our Nation s fundamental legal document.
The use of this date was not based on any specific constitutional language but was, rather, an accident of History: for the outgoing Congress of the Confederation that the Federal Government under the then-new Constitution would be replacing took it upon itself- soon after it had learned that at least 9 of the 13 original States of the American Republic had, by mid-1788, ratified that document (thereby putting it into effect, per its own terms)- to set, for the Year 1789, the dates for the first appoi
By Elesha George Elesha.george@antiguaobserver.com Gym owners are disappointed at the government’s decision to close down their establishment until February 25…
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The past few presidential elections have seen a depressing retrogression on the part of states, as to whether they will tally the write-in votes for declared write-in presidential candidates. The latest to backslide is Maine, where the Secretary of State now refuses to compile the tally, even though he did so in 2016.
Other states that formerlly tallied them, but have stopped, are Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, and Virginia.
In 2016 Maine tallied write-ins for Evan McMullin, Darrell Castle, and Laurence Kotlikoff.
As long ago as 1915, federal courts ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of voters to have their valid votes counted. It is especially important that states with severe ballot access tally write-ins, and Maine is severe. No presidential petition in Maine succeeded in 2020 except for Jo Jorgensen’s petition, and Rocky De La Fuente’s petition. Thanks to Tony Roza for this sad news.