California Professional Firefighters

CPF President Helps Elect Next U.S. President

The votes were finally counted on Monday, and Barack Obama has won California by a vote of 55 to 0. And the man doing the counting was a familiar face to California's first responders.

Participating in a ritual dating to the founding of the Republic, California's Electoral College was convened December 15th at the State Capitol in Sacramento. CPF President Lou Paulson was chosen by Senator Barbara Boxer to serve as one of the 55 electors.

When the college convened Monday afternoon, Paulson was selected to be the Secretary of the Electoral College. In that role, Paulson counted the ballots and certified the election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as president and vice-president of the United States.

"The Electoral College is a part of the peaceful transition of power that is a cornerstone of our democracy," said Paulson. "It's really exciting to be a part of this historic moment."

The Electoral College was established in the U.S. Constitution as the formal method of choosing the president and vice-president. Established as a compromise between those who wanted Congress to make the choice and those who wanted the state legislatures to make the pick, the Electoral College was established as a means of conveying popular will while retaining individual state rights.

Paulson and the other 54 electors were all named in October, prior to the election, with each being named by the Democratic nominee for the 53 congressional seats as well as the sitting U.S. senators. Another group of electors was chosen on the Republican side, and those individuals would have convened had Senator John McCain carried California.

After the electors were sworn in on Monday, Paulson's election as Secretary was the second order of business following the selection of College Chair David Sanchez. Ballots were then handed out to each elector, who signed them and returned them to the desk. Paulson counted the votes and certified first Obama and then Biden. The results were certified by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose written message noted the "historic election of the first African-American president."

"Above the rostrum in the Assembly hangs a portrait of Abraham Lincoln,” said Paulson. “No matter how you voted in November, this is a historic time for our state and nation, and it was an honor to be a part of it."

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