Maryland electors cast ballots for Obama

[MorGrendel]

The 10 electors representing Maryland in the Electoral College cast their ballots today for Barack Obama in a solemn and celebratory ritual repeated in state capitals across the country.

Though the vote in the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis lacked suspense, it was no less moving for its predictability. The electors, after being sworn in and signing a book listing the names of Maryland electors going back decades, held up their right hand and announced their choice for president and vice president.

After the last elector cast his ballot for Obama, the room filled with schoolchildren, state workers and other observers burst into a standing ovation. The electors signed the official certificate of vote forms, which will be sent to the office of the vice president of the United States, the National Archives and a federal judge.

On Jan. 6, Congress will meet in a joint session to count the electoral votes. Then the vice president, acting as president of the U.S. Senate, will announce the result and declare the winners. Obama is expected to receive more than the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.


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