WASHINGTON, D.C. — After millions upon millions of Americans cast their ballots on Election Day, the final vote for president – the one that really counts – comes down to 538 people who make up the Electoral College.
Marla Blunt-Carter is one of them.
“That thought of our ancestor who couldn't even write his name signing his voter registration card, at a time where really their vote didn't count, to being someone that is now voting in this electoral process,” she said. “It's indescribable.”
Blunt-Carter is one of the three electors from Delaware. All three of them are Democrats because President-elect Joe Biden won his home state.
“To be one of three that represents the Delaware voter that calls him their own is just huge,” Blunt-Carter said. “And then you look at the fact that the Vice president-elect is a woman of color - that is doubly amazing for me.”
While she was selected by Delaware Democratic party officials to be an elector, in other states, you have to run for the privilege.
“In our long history as a country, there have been very few people that have actually served in this role,” said Jonathan Fletcher, who is an elector from North Carolina.
Fletcher ran to be an elector at the Republican State Convention, when it was held in North Carolina. He cast his vote for President Donald Trump, who carried the state.
“It's kind of a lifelong dream,” he said. “I joke that it's a short lifelong dream – I'm only 28 – but it is a lifelong dream of mine.”
The Electoral College and the popular vote don’t always match up. It’s happened five times in the country’s history, including twice in the 21st century, in 2000 and 2016. Some say that’s unfair and are calling for the Electoral College to be abolished.
So, how do these electors feel about it?
“It gives states like North Carolina, who are kind of middle of the pack in the electoral shuffle, it gives us a lot more equal standing with the rest of the country,” Fletcher said.
Blunt-Carter said she sees why people would have some issues with the Electoral College.
“I understand that people think that it is far past the time where we start to look at doing this differently,” she said. “But that's not the job of the elector. That's the job of the legislators.”
For now, it’s the system in place, when it comes to choosing who gets to call the people’s house ‘home.’
