Ohio’s electors are: Rob Scott of Kettering, Ken Blackwell of Cincinnati, Bonnie Ward of Waverly, Barbara Clark of Columbus, Keith Cheney of Lima, Mark Wagoner of Ottawa Hills, Dave Johnson of Salem, Joy Padgett of Coshocton, Patti Alderson of West Chester, Steve Loomis of Cleveland, LeeAnn Johnson, Robert Paduchik of Westerville, Karen Arshinkoff of Hudson, James Wert of Lyndhurst, Jim Canepa of Dublin, Jane Timken of Canton. Statewide electors are Madison Gesiotto of Canton and Ryan Stenger of Canton.
The Constitution provides each state one elector for each member of the House of Representatives and one for each senator. Currently, there are 538, including three from the District of Columbia and 270 are needed to win the presidency. All but two states award electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis.
The newly elected Congress meets in a joint session on Jan. 6 to officially count the electoral ballots. The new president is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Electors are typically staunch partisans selected by the parties — if not chosen outright by the nominee’s campaign.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has been passed by 15 states and the District of Columbia, is a system for states to pledge electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of who won the state vote. States representing 196 electoral votes have adopted the compact, which would take effect when it’s enacted by states with an additional 74 electoral votes.
A bill pending in the Ohio House to have Ohio join the compact has stalled and is not expected to win approval.
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