Photo credit: VoA
By Massa Kanneh,asskanneh4@gmail.com
Joe Biden, the youngest American politician to be elected Senator and the oldest to be elected President of the United States, has been in the corridor of American politics for close to half a century.
Liberia President George Weah is among several African Leaders who has congratulated and assure bilateral commitment to the 46th President elect of the United States Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
In President Weah Facebook post he urged Americans to forge together in Peace and Unity.
Said President Weah, ”Congratulations to U.S.President-elect Joe Biden on his historic win. He assumes the leadership of the United States at a very challenging time for the country and the world as we all face a global health crisis. I urge all Americans to forge together in peace and unity. As the traditional ally of the United States, Liberia stands ready to further enhance and rekindle our long, historic and unique bilateral relations.
Congratulations!”
Little on Biden
President elect Biden was born November 20, 1942, Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Biden was the Vice President for the United States under former President Barack Obama Administration.
As a Democrat, He served as Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. As Vice President, Biden was also the President Of the Senate.
He was previously a senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009.
As a Senator, he chaired several Committees including but not limited to, Chair Of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, Chair Of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Chair Of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Member Of the New Castle County Council.
he primarily sponsored 42 bills, which may sound a bit small for the period of time he served but govtrack.us a non governmental site that tracks Congress activities has highlighted that only few bills are sponsored that are enacted and signed into Law, and so 42 is a lot for a Senator.
As a primary sponsor of 42 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
S. 3605 (110th): Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2008
S. 1738 (110th): PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008
S. 3370 (110th): Libyan Claims Resolution Act
S. 2565 (110th): Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008
S. 3061 (110th): William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
S. 3218 (110th): Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2008
S. 2731 (110th): Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008
Biden sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (19%) Crime and Law Enforcement (18%) International Affairs (17%) Armed Forces and National Security (11%) Economics and Public Finance (10%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (9%) Science, Technology, Communications (8%) Health (8%)
Some of Biden’s most recently sponsored bills include;
S. 3668 (110th): Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2008,
S.Res. 698 (110th): A resolution designating October 17, 2008, as “National Mammography Day”,
S.Res. 692 (110th): A resolution designating the week of November 9 through November 15, 2008,
S. 3605 (110th): Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2008,
S. 3524 (110th): Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Improvements Act of 2008,
S. 3526 (110th): Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008,
S.Res. 662 (110th): A resolution raising the awareness of the need for crime prevention in USA.
While Biden served from Jan 1973 to Jan 2009, Biden missed 1,781 of 14,556 roll call votes, which is 12.2%.
Despite being projected President from the Public Votes, Biden still has one more hill(Electoral College)to climb, before being officially called President.
Established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States.
If the 290 Electoral College votes secured by Biden will be maintained, will be glared when the delegates meet to cast a ballot for President and Vice President in December 2020.
Not over yet
During one of the Foreign Press Centers (FPC)’s Briefings, Dr. Lonna Atkeson, Regents Lecturer and Executive Director Of the Center for Voting, Election and Democracy in the Political Science Department, University Of New Mexico, United States, said votes cast by Americans on Election Day, does not directly elect the President and Vice President but are rather designating possible Electors for the Electoral College.
“Each state has as many “electors” in the Electoral College as it has Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress, and the District of Columbia has 3 electors. When voters go to the polls in a Presidential election, they actually vote for the slate of electors that vows to cast their ballots for a particular ticket in the Electoral College. Dr. Atkeson”
“We’ll actually, when we vote for a presidential candidate, we’re actually voting for an elector, not for a presidential candidate. And basically, all the ballots across the nations now admit the phrase presidential electors for all candidate that used to be on ballots. Thus, many voters are unaware that they are not actually voting directly for a presidential candidate because it’s not clear on the ballot there if they’re voting for electors. And for most current ballots, voters choose one Slate as a unit. So, they’rechoosing either the Democratic Slate or the Republican party Slate” Dr. Atkeson added
American Constitution designates Five Hundred and Thirty eight members of the Electoral College in Colorado to Vote on the Second Monday in December, after the Second Wednesday.
According to Dr. Atkeson Americans have no Federal Constitutional rights to vote for President and Vice President , instead vote for Presidential Electors.
“Basically, in the U.S. Constitution and in federal law, we have no federal constitutional right to vote for president or vice president, instead we vote for presidential electors”
And in 1876, there was a law passed that allows electors to be chosen directly by the people. But in most states, that is how the electors are selected, but it is the right of the legislatures to make changes she said.
After the Electoral College Votes, the 12th Amendment Of the Federal Constitution gives the Vice President Of the United States the Authority count the results and announced results to Congress on January 6th, 2021.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence Who is also the President Of the Senate would be announcing his own result in December.