Electoral College Officially Votes for Obama

On Monday, December 15, 2008, Electoral College members met together in their respective states and confirmed by vote Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. In Florida, 27 electors met to give the state's votes to Barack Obama. In each state and the District of Columbia following voting, electors must sign at least six certificates of voting which are then submitted to state officers and judges. The results of November 4 election generally indicate the way the electors will vote although only a few states have laws that bind their electors to vote exactly the way their state voted on election night. Based on the results of the election, the Electoral College was expected to affirm Barack Obama by a vote of 365-173 from a total of 538 electors. The last part of the process is on January 6 when Vice President Dick Cheney affirms Obama as President before a joint session of Congress .