Friday, October 2, 2020
The other day my friend Ted Dove called me about the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. What he said I found very interesting. I asked if he would write a guest column about it, and he readily agreed. For those of you who may not know Ted, here is some information about him:
Ted E. Dove and his wife of 53 years, Carolyn, moved to Toledo Bend in March of 2004. Ted retired recently after 30+ years as an environmental consultant where he was part-owner and Vice President of an international engineering and environmental consulting company. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, Little Rock and an active member of First United Methodist in Many.
Ted has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Toledo Bend Lake Association, having served as President and First Vice President. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Toledo Bend Citizens’ Advisory Committee currently serving as Secretary and formerly as Vice President.
His career employment included 6 years as an Arkansas State Policeman, leaving the agency in 1973 as a Sergeant, to pursue opportunities in the private sector. He and Carolyn have two daughters and four grandchildren. Ted is an avid fisherman, loves duck hunting and annually has a very productive garden that he shares with friends and family.
Ted’s article follows:
Motto of the Year – “Don’t let the Facts get in the way of a good story!”
If you want to know the truth about issues, take the time to diligently research so you get your facts straight. You probably won’t find the facts/truth on FaceBook. I also doubt that the national news networks, cable networks or major newspapers tell it like it really is. They’re too busy spinning the tale they hope will attract viewers and/or readers. Even worse, perhaps, they distort the facts primarily to influence the voting public. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian or, God forbid, a Socialist or (even worse) a Marxist/Communist, your opinions, narratives and beliefs should have the truth as their foundation.
Let’s take the current narratives regarding the potential upheaval that might occur should there be a disputed and/or unclear winner in the November 3rd Presidential election. President Trump cites the potential fraud associated with mail-in ballots among many other “reasons.” Former Vice President Biden alludes to Russian collusion and how the Trump team will do all they can to “fix the election.”
The recent Supreme Court vacancy will likely result in a contentious debate over the qualifications of and primary reason for the current President’s rush to have his nominee confirmed. One of these reasons will center around the ongoing debate surrounding a disputed election, e.g., President Trump’s SCOTUS nominee will side with Republicans in any litigation that might determine the “winner” of the election. Regardless of your political affiliation, these narratives lack true facts to support the “desired” narratives of either candidate or party.
So how does a disputed election for the President of the United States get settled? To determine that, you need to understand that no court can declare the winner of a Presidential election. Not even the Supreme Court. Our Constitution clearly dictates that if there is no clear electoral college winner, then the House of Representatives will determine the winner. Believe it or not, this would not be the first contested Presidential election to be resolved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The first contested election occurred in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson was ultimately declared the President after the 36th ballot, which took a full week of voting by the House. This first disputed election occurred less than a decade after the adoption of our Constitution and, as a result, the 12th Amendment was ultimately adopted and ratified on June 15, 1804. The first test of the adequacy and functionality of the 12th Amendment occurred only 20 years later when three Presidential candidates received electoral votes resulting in no candidate with enough electoral votes to be certified by Congress as the duly elected President. The two top electoral vote-getters were Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. Adams won on the first House vote even though Jackson led in the electoral vote count. Another contested election occurred in 1837 and, again, the winner was determined by the House of Representatives through the 12th Amendment to our Constitution.
Now comes the most interesting part. Should there be no clear winner of the Presidency by January 20, 2021, then the 12th Amendment can be invoked. However, the “vote” by the House of Representatives is not based on the number of Representatives. Under the 12th Amendment, these votes are limited to ONE vote per state! Currently there are 25 Republican majority electoral states, 24 Democrat majority electoral states and one evenly divided electoral state (Pennsylvania). That could change based on the outcome of the November 3rd election, but that likely won’t change the current electoral state by state “leaning.” To further muddy the waters, the House vote only determines who is to be President. Should a similar disputed election for Vice President also occur, the U.S. Senate votes to determine who will be the Vice President. I guess there is a scenario of there being a President from one party with the Vice President being from a different party, although that is very unlikely since every state has the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates together by party so there is no separate vote for each. However, the 12th Amendment is silent on that issue, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the House and Senate could somehow elect/determine which party held which position. How would that work???
The whole process is much more complicated than what is outlined above, but the 12th Amendment is, and has been since 1824, the ultimate precedent for determining who is to be the President (and Vice President) when the electoral college votes are not certified by all states in time to determine who won the required number of electoral votes. Someone has to be declared President and Vice President by January 20, 2021.
Any litigation resulting from a contested (or contingent) election for President will be filed almost immediately in any state where the results are so close that the electoral vote winner cannot be determined. All states must have their electoral votes determined by December 8, and then certify by December 14th to the U.S. Senate, the winner of their electoral votes. Where a state is unable to certify the electoral vote winner in a timely fashion or that particular state’s attempt to certify the electoral vote is blocked through litigation, then the Supreme Court may intervene as was the case in the 2000 Florida disputed ballot count between Al Gore and George Bush.
Let’s pray that the November 3 election results in a clear winner well before the Electoral College vote certification deadline of December 14.
As Observations was posted Friday afternoon, Taylor Nichole Nichols, 27, was still missing. Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Walker said she was last seen Friday, Sept. 18, at Walmart in Many.
Video showed that she went into the store, self-checked out and went to her vehicle. She got in, then got out and started walking south across the parking lot. The video showed she was alone, and it ended when she walked out of the camera’s area of view.
Nichols’ Louisiana ID card was found in a hay field south of Hwy. 171 between Walmart and Patrick-Miller Tractor Co. The card was 30-40 yards inside the field from the roadway. Sheriff’s Deputies spent about a half-day searching the area for her, but did not find her or any other evidence. Deputies were scheduled to search the area again Friday.
Walker said Taylor had ties in Lafayette, and they are checking those out. In addition, there have been reports that she has been seen locally, including on Alabama St., been none of these leads have proven out. He also said telephone records showed the last time her cell phone was used was about Sept. 18 around Hwy. 171 north of Florien.
Anyone with any information is urged to please call the Sheriff’s Department at (318) 256-9241 or send a message to their Facebook page.
Governing bodies in Sabine Parish lost $44,733,730 or four per cent for the fiscal year 2021, according to figures released by the Legislative Auditor. The total includes sales taxes, ad valorem taxes, severance taxes, mineral royalties and gaming revenues. The loss was due to the COVID-19 and Hurricane Laura.
Normal revenue for the period in Sabine Parish would be $46,595,770. The overall effect of COVID-19 was a loss of $1,021,209 or 2.2 per cent. Revenue with COVID-19 and without Hurricane Laura amounted to $45,574,561.
The effect of Hurricane Laura on Sales Tax totaled a loss of $2,008,975 and the effect on Ad Valorem Tax was a loss of $2,849,806. Overall effect of COVID-19 and Hurricane Laura totaled a loss of $840,831 or four per cent.
REMEMBER: Tomorrow night, Saturday, Oct. 3, is the big Movies in Many Sabine Humane Society fundraiser at Many Community Center [Sabine Theater] in downtown Many. They will show “The Call of the Wild” at 7 p.m. completely free of charge. Attendees are asked to social distance and wear masks.
The group will gratefully accept monetary donations and items of use for their Animal Shelter. Those include: Purina Dog Chow and Kitten Chow, Purina Equine Strategy Healthy Choice, dog and cat treats, dog and cat toys, full-sized newspapers, fleece blankets (not filled), dog sweaters, leashes and collars, dog and kitty beds, towels, bleach and Febreze Pet Odor Eliminator liquid. To make a donation of hay, please call (318) 256-2275 Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to schedule a time for someone to pick it up.
Please call or write with your ideas and suggestions for future articles. I always love to hear from you. Call (318) 332-8653 or send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com. To save, send or print today’s column, click on the appropriate icon below. Follow the pages below to see Observations of the last few years. To read older ones, please visit our Facebook page. As always, thank you for your faithful readership.
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