Electoral College: State Militias Guard the Transition of Presidential Powers
War shaped the Framers' experience and creation of the Electoral College.
Who eats lunch and who is lunch illustrates the violent nature of life seeking energy. We grant governments sovereignty, a monopoly on the use of violence, to minimize war and crime by coercing compliance with law. To constrain the nature of governments to monopolize and coerce, the Framers Divided Sovereignty in the Constitution between:
- We the People for all powers not enumerated as sacrificed in written constitutions.
- The Federal government to suppress wars and paths to war, to “provide for the common defence.”
- State governments to suppress crime, resolve commercial disputes, and govern welfare.
- Thomas Jefferson: "The states can best govern our home concerns and the federal government our foreign ones."
- Divided Sovereignty is explained in Federalist #1 through #46.
The Framers understood the need for this Divided Sovereignty to mitigate the abuse of power. Federalist #28 (Hamilton): “Power being almost always the rival of power, the general government will at all times stand ready to check the usurpations of the state governments, and these will have the same disposition towards the general government. The people, by throwing themselves into either scale, will infallibly make it preponderate. If their rights are invaded by either, they can make use of the other as the instrument of redress. How wise will it be in them by cherishing the union to preserve to themselves an advantage which can never be too highly prized!”
The Electoral College was created so States, with their militias, would be sovereign over and “guard” the transition of Presidential war powers. Federalist #68 (Hamilton): "The mode of appointment of the Chief Magistrate of the United States is … that the election of the President is pretty well guarded…." Not administered, but States, with militias, “guard” the transition of the Commander in Chief’s war powers.
Further, the Constitution explicitly forbids Congressmen to inject their opinions into States’ sovereignty over the Electoral College: Article 2, Section 1: "no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector".
On December 14, 2020 the States certified their votes in the Electoral College. Without a tie, that certification ended the 2020 Presidential election cycle. The only appeal to a decision by the Electoral College vote is the next 4 year election cycle.
14th Amendment, Section 3: "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office ... who ... engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same (United States)."
Every government, every sovereign citizen, has a Constitution right and duty to enforce the Constitution, to defend Electoral College decisions from insurrection. Courts blocking Trump from ballots enforces the Constitution, mitigating the need to use State militias to enforce decisions of the Electoral College.