Washington - While he may have been elected by US voters on
November 4, the process of formally naming president-elect Barack
Obama to the post only began Monday.
State electors from around the country gathered in their
respective state capitals to cast their ballots under the country's
complex Electoral College system, officially making Obama the first
African-American to capture the White House.
Some 538 electoral votes are divided according to population among
the 50 US states and the District of Columbia, as the federal city of
Washington is known. The top presidential vote-getter in each state
wins all the electoral college votes from that state, in a winner-
take-all system practiced by all but two states.
Obama won 53 per cent of the popular vote compared to 46 per cent
for Republican candidate John McCain. More importantly, Obama won 365
electoral votes to 173 for McCain.
The 538 so-called electors - made up primarily of activists named
by the parties in each state - gathered separately in every state
capital to cast their ballots. There is little suspense, though
technically the electors in many states can vote however they wish.
The votes were completed in all 50 states and the District of
Columbia in routine fashion, according to media reports.
'This is a great day in America,' said Pennsylvania's Electoral
College President William George, after the state's electors cast
their 21 votes for Obama.
The US Congress must still count and approve the electoral college
vote in a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on
January 8.
Obama is to be sworn into office on January 20, in an inauguration
ceremony that is expected to attract millions of supporter and
spectators to potentially the largest event in Washington's history.
Obama plans to travel by railroad to the Washington swearing-in
ceremony, starting in Philadelphia and making stops in running mate
Joe Biden's home town of Wilmington, Delaware, and in Baltimore,
Maryland, his transition team announced Monday.
USA
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