The Choosing of State Officials in Representative Democratic Mode:Governor-By Harsha Sankar

 

The Choosing of State Officials in Representative Democratic Mode:Governor

The Governor must be chosen by electors. In Virginia there are 95 counties and 38 independent cities. All 133 localities assign a specific number of  electoral votes, allocated to its elector, based on population. Each elector can achieve ballot access by party nomination or by seeking it independently. Electors have to stand election. The electorate casts public ballots and the single transferable vote(ranked choice voting) is used.

The candidate who wins the direct popular vote becomes the elector. The elector, who cannot be a participant in any branch of government for at least one year prior to the election, casts his or her vote for governor. That candidate of Governor nor his/her electors should also neither belong to any organization that is not publicly announced nor should its contents of its meetings be sealed in secrecy for at least two years prior to the election. Finally, that candidate should not belong to any group comprised solely of any government branch participants.

A gubernatorial candidate can achieve ballot access by party nomination or by seeking it independently. The gubernatorial candidate cannot be a participant in any branch of government for at least one year prior to the election.

The gubernatorial candidate who receives the majority of the electoral votes becomes governor-elect. If no candidate receives a majority, the Top Three candidates are picked by electors who meet in their respective localities and then cast their ballots as one per locality. The gubernatorial candidate who receives the majority of these new electoral votes becomes governor-elect.

If a candidate for governor still fails to achieve the majority, then the lower house of the state legislature chooses the next governor-elect from the final Top Two candidates.