Presidency, electoral college focus of Constitution Day

by Jason Hartline, staff writer

Three members of the South Plains College Social Science Department celebrated the birth of our government with a discussion of the United States Constitution and the 2008 presidential election.

The event, conducted on Sept. 19, was hosted by Larry Norris, associate professor of government, Michael Smith, instructor of government, and Dr. Ron Carden, professor of history and chairperson of the Social Sciences Department. Numerous faculty members and students attended the Constitution Day observance.

Constitution Day is an American federal holiday that recognizes the ratification of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is celebrated on Sept. 17, to commemorate the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787.

The law establishing the holiday was created in 2004 with the passage of an amendment by Senator Robert Byrd to the Omnibus Spending Bill. Before this law was enacted, the holiday was known as Citizenship Day. In addition to renaming the holiday, the act mandates that all publicly-funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the United States Constitution on that day. Because Sept. 17 was on a Wednesday this year, SPC marked the occasion on the closest Friday.

In May 2005, the United States Department of Education announced the enactment of this law, and that it would apply to any school receiving federal funds of any kind. However, this holiday is not observed by granting time off work for federal employees.

Dr. Carden kicked off the event with a warm welcome and discussion of how the United States Constitution came to be. Dr. Carden also helped those in attendance to understand how the voting process for United States citizens works.

Dr. Carden went on to explain how the United States chose Tuesday as the day to vote.

“Wednesday was too far into the week, Thursday was thrown out because that’s when the British vote,” said Dr. Carden. “Saturdays were market days, and Fridays were a time to get ready for market day. They couldn’t have it on Sunday because, well, that’s the Lord’s day.”

Smith then took the floor by giving some insight into the voting process.

“You have a more likely chance of being struck by lightning while your plane is crashing down into the ocean than deciding the next president,” said Smith. “Then why vote? Because if no one did, nothing in this country would be accomplished.”

Smith then turned the discussion toward how Texas legislation works.

“Growing up in Iowa, this is my first experience with Texas legislation,” said Smith. “To get a better understanding of how things are run, I went to a Democratic convention.”

It was after Smith had said that when Constitution Day turned into more of a political rally.

Some members of the audience were very pro-Barack Obama, being Democratic supporters, and some were very pro-John McCain, being strong Republican supporters.

By the time Norris took the floor, an intense debate over political issues had overcome Constitution Day. Who would be a better candidate, Obama or McCain? Republican or Democrat? These were some of the matters discussed between the hosts and the audience.

In between the heated, unsettled political issues, an understanding of the voting process was established by Norris.

“The bottom line is when you vote, you aren’t voting for president, but a group of electors,” Norris said. “You will be indirectly voting for a new president, but you are depending on the electors to vote how the state does, even though they don’t have to.”

Despite who wins this year’s election, the process set forth by the United States Constitution doesn’t change. Who ever wins 270 electoral votes is guaranteed the next presidential seat.

“The popular vote doesn’t determine who becomes the next president,” said Norris. “If that were the case, Al Gore would be in the White House over George W.”