The Platform of the Green Party of the United States has long called for the abolition of the Electoral College, as an anti-democratic institution, a legacy of the slavocracy which founded this nation.

And yet,  .  .  .

A component of our participation in the Presidential election is nominating our slate for the Electoral College.  Should the Green Party slate for President and Vice-President win a plurality of the Georgia vote in the general election used to decide the quadrennial Presidential election, we will be responsible for seating our slate of Presidential Electors in the Electoral College.

Even given the long odds of our overcoming the Jim Crow ballot access barriers, the wealth primary, the debate exclusion and the media whiteout of Green Party candidates and their campaigns, our taking this step to nominate and qualify a full slate of sixteen Presidential Electors strengthens our standing before the courts as we litigate these barriers.

And your participation in this process can make a material contribution to our success in this election cycle.

Citizens of Georgia, at least 21 years of age, are eligible to run.  For a more complete examination of the qualifications and disqualifications for this office, please see pages 79-83 of this document:

https://sos.ga.gov/admin/files/Qualifications_and_Disqualifications_2013.pdf

Candidates wishing to pursue the nomination of the Georgia Green Party for Presidential Elector are asked to file with the Party, in advance of our Nominating Convention, their notice of intention to seek the nomination of the party:

Notice-Intent-to-Seek-Nomination-20200214

To run for Presidential Elector a candidate or their agent must appear in the office of the Elections Division of the Secretary of State during qualifying which ends at 12:00 noon on the first Friday of March, that would be March 6th, in the 2020 election cycle.  To qualify requires the filing of an affidavit of candidacy, and a qualifying fee of $1.50 paid by check or money order.

The affidavit required to qualify for Presidential Elector is available for download from the website of the Secretary of State.  After an inquiry with the Elections Division seeking to verify which affidavit is required, we can now confirm that the one linked here is the one suitable for this purpose.  If you will be unable to attend the Bonaire Convention, please complete and sign before a notary public who will verify your identity and notarize these documents, this affidavit and send it along with a check or money order for $1.50, payable to the Secretary of State of Georgia with someone who will be attending.

https://sos.ga.gov/admin/files/Notice_of_Candidacy_and_Affidavit_(Federal).pdf

Election Code Provisions relevant to candidates for Presidential Elector, for the Electoral College
Section 21-2-10. Election of presidential electors

At the November election to be held in the year 1964 and every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected by the electors of this state persons to be known as electors of President and Vice President of the United States and referred to in this chapter as presidential electors, equal in number to the whole number of senators and representatives to which this state may be entitled in the Congress of the United States.

History

Laws 1824, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 235; Code 1863, § 1251; Code 1868, § 1332; Code 1873, § 1311; Code 1882, § 1311; Civil Code 1895, § 89; Civil Code 1910, § 103; Code 1933, § 34-2501; Ga. L. 1958, p. 208, §§ 1, 3; Code 1933, § 34-1601, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 21; Ga. L. 1993, p. 118, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1.

Section 21-2-11. Performance of duties by presidential electors

The presidential electors chosen pursuant to Code Section 21-2-10 shall assemble at the seat of government of this state at 12:00 Noon of the day which is, or may be, directed by the Congress of the United States and shall then and there perform the duties required of them by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

History

Orig. Code 1863, § 1252; Code 1868, § 1333; Code 1873, § 1312; Ga. L. 1880-81, p. 67, § 1; Code 1882, § 1312; Ga. L. 1888, p. 33, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 90; Civil Code 1910, § 104; Code 1933, § 34-2502; Code 1933, § 34-1602, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1.

Section 21-2-12. Procedure for filling presidential elector vacancies

If any such presidential elector shall die, or for any cause fail to attend at the seat of government at the time appointed by law, the presidential electors present shall proceed to choose by voice vote a person of the same political party or body, if any, as such deceased or absent presidential elector, to fill the vacancy occasioned thereby; and immediately after such choice the name of the person so chosen shall be transmitted by the presiding officer of the college to the Governor, who shall immediately cause notice of his or her election in writing to be given to such person. The person so elected, and not the person in whose place he or she shall have been chosen, shall be a presidential elector and shall, with the other presidential electors, perform the duties required of them by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

History

Laws 1824, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 240; Code 1863, § 1253; Code 1868, § 1334; Code 1873, § 1313; Code 1882, § 1313; Civil Code 1895, § 91; Civil Code 1910, § 105; Code 1933, § 34-2503; Code 1933, § 34-1603, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1.

Section 21-2-13. Compensation of presidential electors; payment of expenses of electoral college

Each presidential elector shall receive from the state treasury the sum of $50.00 for every day spent in traveling to, remaining at, and returning from the place of meeting and shall be entitled to mileage at the rate of 10 cent(s) per mile to and from his or her home. The reasonable expenses of the electoral college shall likewise be paid by the state treasurer, in both cases upon warrants drawn by the presiding officer of the college.

History

Orig. Code 1863, § 1257; Code 1868, § 1338; Code 1873, § 1317; Code 1882, § 1317; Ga. L. 1882-83, p. 54, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 95; Civil Code 1910, § 109; Code 1933, § 34-2507; Code 1933, § 34-1604, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1402, § 18; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 863, § 3/SB 296.