[ad_1]
Lawsuits raise questions about the validity of the star ratings system.
[ad_2]
Source link
Blog
-
Flaws of the Medicare Advantage ‘quality’ ratings exposed in insurance-company lawsuits
-
3 Ways Supplemental Security Income Has Changed This Fall
[ad_1]
De Visu / Shutterstock.com More low-income seniors, along with people who have disabilities, are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) this fall. The federal government recently announced changes to SSI regulations that took effect Sept. 30. These changes are expected to result in more people qualifying for benefits, and in some cases bigger benefits, while also reducing the amount of information that applicants…
[ad_2]
Source link -
Jacky Rosen Finally Called Winner of Nevada US Senate Race
[ad_1]
Posted on: November 9, 2024, 12:41h.
Last updated on: November 9, 2024, 12:41h.
US Sen. Jacky Rosen, D, was called the winner on Friday night in the close race in Nevada against Sam Brown.
Jacky Rosen, pictured above. She won her Senate race. (Image: Jacky Rosen campaign) News of her victory was projected by the Associated Press at 9:15 p.m. PT. Other news organizations had declared her the winner earlier this week.
She was leading Brown, R, by 20,571 votes, according to news reports. That’s a difference of approximately 1.4%.
Naming her the winner came after Clark County processed late mail-in ballots, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.
To be counted in the race, mail-in ballots needed to be postmarked by Election Day, which was Tuesday.
Second Term for Rosen
This marks the second Senate term for Rosen. She initially was elected in 2018.
Previously, she was elected to House of Representatives in 2016.
Brown, a former Army officer, was endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump.
Initially Too Close To Call
The Rosen vs. Brown race was considered a toss-up by pollsters and then was too close to call after the polls closed on Tuesday.
As of Thursday, Rosen led Brown by 12,699 votes, based on numbers reported by the AP.
Rosen was leading then with 47.6% of the votes, which totaled 644,471, as of Thursday morning. Brown had 46.7% of the votes totaling 631,772.
Rosen was projected on Thursday to have won against Brown by Decision Desk HQ, The Hill reported. But other news organizations were hesitant to call the race given the number of ballots that had yet to be counted.
Many votes cast in Nevada still have questionable signatures. Voters have until Tuesday to verify their signatures on these ballots. As of Wednesday, 12,736 mail-in ballots had problematic signatures.
In some of Tuesday’s Senate races, the Republican candidates benefited from the historic victory seen by former President Donald Trump (R) over Vice President Kamala Harris (D) on Election Day.
Republicans had hoped Brown would capture the Senate seat, to boost the Republican majority in the Senate. The Republicans now have 53 seats in the Senate, while the Democrats have 46. The Arizona Senate seat has yet to be called.
In Arizona, Kari Lake, R, still trailed Ruben Gallego, D, on Friday in the close Senate race. As of Friday night, Lake trailed Gallego by 1.1% with a 32,779-vote difference, according to AZMirror, a regional news site.
[ad_2]
Source link -
Formovie Theater Premium UST projector review
[ad_1]
We’ve reviewed several ultra-short-throw (UST) projectors over the years, but the Formovie Theater Premium is the fanciest of them all. For those unfamiliar with the brand, Formovie is a joint venture between Xiaomi and Appotronics – a leader in the laser display business.
Theater Premium is the direct successor to 2022’s Formovie Theater and, as such, brings two key additions: higher brightness output at up to 2,200 lumens and improved audio powered by its second-generation Bowers & Wilkins speakers. Formovie also claims the new projector has 25% better clarity than its predecessor.
Formovie Theater Premium specs at a glance:
- Dimensions: 550 x 349.2 x 107.5mm, 9.8kg.
- Optical parameters: ALDP 4.0 RGB+ triple laser (Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) UST (ultra short throw) DLP projector; 4K (UHD) optical resolution (Pixel Shifting); 3000:1 contrast ratio.
- Projection parameters: 2,200 ISO lumens (advertised); 80~150-inch screen diagonal; 0.21:1 throw ratio; 0.47″ DMD display chip; 107% BT.2020 color space; 60 Hz.
- Optical adjustment:Automatic software electric focus; Omnidirectional manual keystone correction (8-point correction) or 4-point keystone correction.
- Audio: Two full-range 15W Bowers & Wilkins Hi-Fi speakers; Audio output via 3.5mm jack (stereo) and multichannel ARC over HDMI and optical S/PDIF; Dolby Audio, DTS/X and DTS-HD audio decoding.
- Internals: MediaTek MT9629 (4xCortex-A55 @ 1.5 GHz); Mali-G52 2EE MC1 GPU ; 2GB of RAM; 32GB storage.
- Hardware video decoder: Up to 4K video with 10bit color depth support; AV1, AVS2, HEVC, VP9, H.264, SHVC 4K60@10bit; HDR (Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG decoding); Widevine L1 (HD and greater streaming);
- I/O: Internal power supply with AC 110-240V support; 2xUSB 2.0 Type-A; 3xHDMI 2.1 (full-sized with eARC support on 1 port); 1×3.5mm stereo audio output jack; S/PDIF optical multi-channel audio output; 1xRG45 Lan port; Far-field microphone setup for voice assistant.
- Wireless connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi 6; Bluetooth 5.0.
- Software: Google TV with Google services; Built-in Chromecast support and Google voice assistant.
- Other features: Far-field voice control; Remote control in box; Wireless projection support (Chromecast); MEMC; Speckle elimination; Automatic low latency mode for gaming.
Are the nicer speakers, bump up in brightness and clarity worthy of the higher asking price? We’ve summed up our findings in the following lines.
Hardware and unboxing
If you’re new to the UST projector scene, these types of devices can be positioned up close to a projection surface and generally beam content at an upward angle to a wall or pre-installed monitor. That’s different from traditional projectors, which usually have a 2:1 throw ratio and require at least 5 meters to project a 100-inch image.
In the case of the Formovie Theater Premium, we have an Advanced Laser Phosphor Display (ALPD) 4.0 with three RGB lasers, ultra-wide lenses and a throw ratio of 0.21:1.
This means you can achieve a 150-inch image (diagonal) by placing the Formovie Theater Premium just 40cm (15.75 inches) away from the projection surface. You can also get a 100-inch image from a 16.5cm (6.5 inches) distance or an 80-inch image with 7.4cm (2.83 inches) clearance from the wall.
This means you can get the same image size as the first-gen Formovie Theater from an 18% closer distance to the projection surface wall.
ALPD 4.0 offers all the benefits of LED projection, like a compact and energy-efficient light source that allows for easier non-standard optical angles and a longer lifespan, rated at 30,000 hours. In addition, the three-laser ALPD 4.0 projector inside the Theater Premium offers richer, deeper colors and wider color space coverage. The new model also brings fewer speckles and more natural color reproduction for a more immersive viewing experience.
Theater Premium supports 4K native resolution at up to 60Hz and offers up to 2,200 ISO lumens of brightness – up from 1,800 lumens on the Formovie Theater. The rest of the imaging specs are identical with a 3000:1 contrast ratio, top-notch color accuracy with 107% coverage of the BT.2020 color gamut, Dolby Vision/HDR 10+ (Decoding) and HDR 10/HLG support.
The unboxing experience is pretty uneventful. Theater Premium comes in a massive cardboard box with a top handle, making it useful for transporting purposes.
Opening the box reveals a black sleeve housing the manual, warranty and a microfiber cleaning cloth. Theater Premium sits below, neatly packed inside compression foam alongside its AC power supply and Bluetooth remote control.
This is a big piece of kit, measuring 550 x 349.2 x 107.5mm and weighing 9.8kg. Picking up the Theater Premium reveals the device is rear-heavy, and it certainly feels every bit as premium as its price tag would suggest. We appreciate the industrial design with its cool matte-finish metal body.
You’ll find height-adjustable feet on the bottom side and a fabric mesh cutout on the front housing the updated second-generation Bowers & Wilkins speaker setup. It consists of 2x woofers and 2x tweeters with a power of 2×15 watts. The speakers have a 990cc sound chamber for deep bass and support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
A quick word on the remote – it’s pretty basic and more akin to what you’d get with a $100 Google Chromecast than a premium UST projector. The bottom right corner is occupied with shortcut buttons for Netflix, which is now supported natively and YouTube.
Projection performance, speakers
Formovie’s UST projectors have built a name for themselves in the past couple of years with excellent image quality, and Theater Premium is no exception. The device’s ultra-short-throw nature means virtually no interference with image projection, as the projector is planted mere centimeters away from the wall, away from any possible interference.
The other benefit is that sound output comes from the front of the projector, unlike traditional non-UST projectors, which often require additional speaker setups.
The setup process on the Theater Premium is pretty straightforward. We were up and using the device after plugging it into the power outlet and following a few short steps of setting up the Google TV interface. We appreciate the integrated power supply housed inside the unit, which means you only have the short AC power cord plugged into the back of the projector, saving you from dealing with huge power bricks hanging around.
On the subject of power, we have to mention the instantaneous power on and off, which is a welcome addition to anyone coming from a standard non-UST projector, some of which take ages to switch on and off.
As the specs suggest, we achieved the maximum 150-inch picture diagonal by placing the projector just 40cm (15.75 inches) away from a wall, but due to space constraints, we resorted to using it in 120-inch mode at 25.5cm (10 inches) away for most of our tests.
If you’ve never used a UST projector before, its automatic electric focus and eight-point keystone mapping are fairly simple to set up. Our only consideration was to level out the projector’s surface via its height-adjustable feet to ensure optimal image quality.
Theater Premium excels in three key areas: brightness, contrast and color reproduction.
Starting with brightness, we were able to use the Theater Premium in all sorts of lighting, even with direct sunlight creeping in. This is where the updated peak brightness of 2,200 ISO lumens comes in handy. The Standard mode delivers the highest output from the pre-configured options. A projection screen would significantly boost legibility in brighter environments and would also help fight off any irregularities of projecting directly onto a wall.
While we tested the device without a dedicated projection screen, clarity and contrast were great in a light-controlled environment. The colors appeared vivid, with deep blacks and great out-of-the-box tuning.
We were impressed with the level of detail in the picture, which allowed you to make up individual pixels and easily read even smaller bits of text from a distance. We should mention that Theater Premium needs some time to warm up to its proper operating temperature, resulting in uneven focus around the top corners of the screen. That issue was only present in the initial 15-20 minutes after turning on the projector and then disappeared.
Watching 4K HDR content was a breeze, with faultless tone mapping and great contrast. Just like its predecessor, Theater Premium covers 107% of the BT.2020 (aka Rec. 2020) color gamut, allowing for natural colors in supported content. All of the popular streaming platforms work flawlessly and play content back at up to 4K HDR where supported.
Moving on to the speaker setup, we found the updated Bowers & Wilkins speakers deliver rich and detailed sound with great bass, potent mids and sharp highs. You get finely tuned audio out of the box, which, combined with the Dolby Amos and DTS/X support, makes for an immersive movie-watching experience.
We also hooked up the Theater Premium to an M1 MacBook Pro 14 and SteamDeck to see how it fares via HDMI. The MacBook only managed to output a limited 30Hz refresh rate at the full 4K resolution with noticeable input lag as a result.
The SteamDeck fared much better in tandem with the console mode setting on the projector with a solid 60Hz output with the Gaming Mode, making for an enjoyable gaming experience. Input lag from the Steam Deck was hovering around 20ms, which is more than good enough for casual gaming titles.
Noise pollution is kept to a minimum, and it’s way less intrusive than what you may be used to from a traditional DLP projector. The integrated fan does a great job of cooling the device even during several hours of usage. Fan noise levels vary between 25 and 40dB, leaning in the mid to low 30s in idle mode measured from a meter’s distance.
Software features
The updated Google TV interface based on Android 11 found on the Theater Premium is a welcome addition from Android TV on the older Formovie Theater. This is Google’s latest TV operating system and offers an updated interface UI with card-like tabs and a unified search engine that better understands contextual searches across different streaming platforms.
Google TV on Formovie Theater PremiumYou also get the vast Google Play app catalog, which includes 10,000+ apps. One worthy addition to the Theater Premium is the Netflix app, which did not work on the original Formovie Theater for some reason, forcing you to install an APK or connect a separate input device.
The top part of the home screen comes with Home, Apps and Library shortcuts. You also get a “For Your” tab as the default home screen and separate category lists for Live TV, Movies, Shows, Apps and your Library of content. There’s a fine level of control over the projector setup, picture, and sound settings with neatly laid out menus.
Projector and Picture settingsNavigating the interface was smooth and without any lag for the most part. The quad-core MediaTek MT9629 chipset and 2GB of RAM are more than enough to handle everything you throw at them.
In our test, YouTube ran without any issues, delivering up to 4K60 videos with HDR where applicable. Netflix also worked flawlessly with the onboard Widevine L1 certification, ensuring smooth playback with a maximum of 4K HDR content.
YouTube 4K60 HDR playback, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video appsThe same can be said about the other big streaming platforms like Max, Disney+, Apple TV and Amazon Prime, which all worked great.
Verdict
Whether we were watching movies from the big streaming platforms, catching up on our YouTube subscriptions list or playing some casual games, the Formovie Theater Premium delivered an immersive and enjoyable experience. The ability to turn any wall into a 150-inch screen is a real game changer, and doing so without the limitation of regular LCD projectors is a real win.
The colors pop with great contrast while darker hues remain inky black. Brightness output is really impressive, even in rooms with natural light coming through the windows. The updated Google TV operating system now comes with native Netflix compatibility, which was a major omission on the previous model.
The updated Bowers & Wilkins speakers sound great for casual movie watching and offer great surround sound performance.
At $3,500/€3,500 MSRP, Formovie Theater Premium is a big investment, but we reckon it’s hard to find a better UST projector for that price. Formovie is also pushing a Black Friday sale between November 11-12, which will keep the price at $2,999/€2,999. You can pick up a Formovie Theater Premium on the company’s official website.
We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
[ad_2]
Source link -
Andor season two will hit Disney+ in April
[ad_1]
Star Wars fans have been waiting quite some time to find out when they’ll be able to watch the second and final season of Andor. At the D23 Brazil fan expo, Lucasfilm revealed that the Rogue One prequel series will debut on Disney+ on April 22, 2025. That’s almost three years since the first season premiered in August 2022, and just after next year’s edition of Star Wars Celebration.
The show focuses on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in the years leading up to the events of Rogue One. It details how he came to work against the Empire as an important operative for the Rebel Alliance. Andor has been widely hailed as one of the best pieces of Star Wars media over the last few years, and now you know when you’ll be able to watch more of the rebel spy’s story.
In the meantime, Star Wars fans will be able to check out the seemingly Goonies-esque Skeleton Key. The series stars Jude Law and focuses on a group of kids discovering a spaceship and going on an adventure. The first two episodes will hit Disney+ on December 3.
[ad_2]
Source link -
Star Wars’ Andor Season 2 Has A Release Date And It’s Not Far
[ad_1]
Image: Disney Andor isn’t just top-tier Star Wars storytelling, it’s hands-down one of the best TV shows of the decade so far. Fans have been patiently waiting for news of its season 2 release, and Disney has finally confirmed the Rogue One prequel series will return in April 2025.
The announcement came after the Disney+ app accidentally revealed the season 2 debut on April 22, 2025 via an in-app ad. Arriving two and a half years after season 1 wrapped up, the next slate of episodes about reluctant resistance fighters trying to bring down the Empire leads directly into the events that start Star Wars: Rogue One. Showrunner Tony Gilroy previously confirmed that season 2’s 12 episode arc will be full of time jumps, with each section covering a span of a few days before jumping another year forward.
While Gilroy is writing the first three episodes of the show’s final season, he’ll be joined again by Beau Willimon (House of Cards), Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler), and Tom Bissell, the novelist and essayist who’s also written for several video games, including The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Gears of War 5. Andor star Diego Luna previously said the end of show would make Rogue One feel like a “different” movie, presumably in a good way.
The Mandalorian jump started Star Wars’ streaming era on Disney+, and there have been plenty of decent to good shows in the years since. Still, Andor arguably stands head and shoulders above them, at least when it comes to the script, acting, character development, and world-building. It’s a shame that we’re only getting one more season, but in the end, it’s nice to see creatives allowed to follow through on a specific vision and storyline without the need to keep expanding it and padding it out to juice subscription numbers.
And so far, outside of Andor’s April return, 2025 is looking pretty empty otherwise when it comes to Star Wars. Skeleton Crew arrives this December and the Mandalorian & Grogu movie isn’t until 2026, with Ahsoka season 2 seemingly not set to arrive before then either. Hopefully, that encourages everyone to give Andor it’s due in the meantime.
.
[ad_2]
Source link -
Pioneer’s go-to controller option for aspiring DJs is the DDJ-FLX4
[ad_1]
Back at the end of 2022, Pioneer DJ had welcomed the newest controller creation in its family of products that are aimed towards helping any aspiring DJ find a starting point to an eventual career. And ahead of this holiday season, anyone that’s starting out in their DJ journey while hoping to not break the bank on a reliable, affordable, and professional-looking option should consider the DDJ-FLX4 as a go-to controller.
Starting at a budget-friendly price of $299 and formerly replacing Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-400, the two-channel DDJ-FLX4 offers DJs the ability to use it with either Serato—including a free use of Serato Lite—or Rekordbox’s performance mode. Pioneer’s controller also offers direct access to streaming services—not including subscriptions—like SoundCloud, Beatport, and more so DJs have the ability to dive into an extensive catalog without worrying about having the music locally saved on their hard drive. The DDJ-FLX4 also allows beginner DJs to use a couple of guardrails to assist them in their learning experience, including Smart Fader—to help with flawless transitioning—as well as Smart CFX, where DJs can use an array of effects by turning a single controller knob. And the DDJ-FLX4 also makes it even easier to use with the upgrade of its USB ports to USB-C for the ultimate wire compatibility.
Read more about Pioneer’s DDJ-FLX4 here.
Categories: News
[ad_2]
Source link -
Tone As A Cause And Effect Of Learning –
[ad_1]
Tone As A Cause And Effect Of Learning
by Terrell Heick
In 20 Words That Can Affect How Students Think,, we said “Tone affects how students see themselves and their role in the learning process. In fact, a student’s own ongoing internal dialogue and thoughts about themselves and their self-identity as learners isn’t just a ‘factor’ in learning but one of the single most important factors.”
This is central to the principle and practice of Social-Emotional Learning (and strategies for social-emotional learning). It might be useful to take a quick look at some of the key ideas and underlying assumptions about tone in learning.
Tone As A Cause And Effect Of Learning
I. Tone matters. It affects human beings and students are human beings.
II. Tone can be notable in its ‘tenor’ and value as well as in its abundance or absence. That is, tone can be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and there can be a ‘lot’ or a ‘little’ of it.
III. Tone can be both a cause and an effect. That is to say, tone can cause ‘something’ or be caused by something. For example, a lack of confidence can create an uncertain tone while another tone might create a distinct lack of confidence.
IV. As a factor in ‘climate,’ tone is closely related to mood and together they contribute greatly to that climate.
VI. Any climate created either is or is not intentionally conducive to creativity, collaboration, and learning.
VII. Students experience some kind of tone in every interaction (even if that tone seems more or less unremarkable—that’s a ‘clinical’ tone). That is, almost everything a student experiences in the learning process has ‘tone.’
VIII. Having established that tone affects students and is (through our word choice, among other factors) adjustable, that means that as teachers, we can adjust something that affects students.
IX. To make these adjustments, we have to know what tone is and how it’s adjustable.
X. Tone is complex and is explicitly and implicitly created through countless sources above and beyond our words but because our words are so easily adjustable, it makes sense to make that simple adjustment while we sort out the other factors that affect tone in the learning process.
[ad_2]
Source link -
The Absolute BEST Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
[ad_1]
This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast is the perfect way to get tender, juicy turkey with a fraction of the prep but all the flavor. Let the slow cooker do ALL the work!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Turkey Breast Ingredients For the Slow Cooker
Making the turkey in the crockpot is the best! That way, you have the oven to make everything else. Not only that, but the turkey’s flavor and tenderness are unbeatable! Scroll to the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
Turkey
- Boneless Turkey Breast Roast Thawed: It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a turkey! Just make sure the breast will fit in your crockpot and has had 24 hours to thaw in the fridge.
- Onion: Adds a hint of sweetness and savory flavor that perfectly complements the turkey breast.
- Garlic Cloves: Gives the turkey that incredible punch of savory flavor.
- Whole Carrots: Provide a bright sweetness while softening, releasing their juices, and infusing into the breast.
- Chicken Broth: Adds moisture and flavor into the turkey while it cooks.
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh Rosemary and Sage add a bright, earthy note to the turkey breast while it cooks.
Butter Herb Rub
- Softened Butter: The base for the rub that soaks into the slow cooker turkey while it cooks. You can use salted or unsalted butter, whatever your preference.
- Garlic Powder: Gives extra garlic flavor in the butter rub.
- Dried Onion Flakes: Adds a sweet, slightly tender flavor and texture.
- Salt & Black Pepper: Enhances the flavors of everything in this recipe.
- Paprika: Complements the vegetables and addds a hint of peppery heat.
- Dried Herbs: Combine Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, is the ultimate combination in dried herbs for classic flavor.
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Recipe
It only took me a short time to prep everything and throw it into the slow cooker. In just a few hours, I had the most delicious, moist, and tender turkey I have ever had! Trust me, you will want to make this all year long!
- Prep: Prepare the turkey by thawing it ahead of time. I thawed mine in the fridge 2 days in advance! Line your slow cooker with a liner or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place the onion, garlic, carrots, chicken broth, and herbs sprigs in the slow cooker’s bottom.
- Stir: Combine the softened butter, garlic powder, dried onion flakes, salt, paprika, sage, rosemary, thyme, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to incorporate the herbs into the butter.
- Coat: Spread the butter mixture generously all over the thawed turkey.
- Cook: Place the turkey into the crockpot and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer. Carefully remove your turkey from the slow cooker and then place it on a platter. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing, and enjoy!
Crockpot Turkey Breast Tips and Variations
- Turkey: Make sure your turkey breast will fit in your slow cooker! 5-6 pounds will fit in standard 7-quart slow cooker.
- Citrus: Add sliced lemons or oranges to the bottom of the slow cooker for added flavor!
- Boneless vs Bone-In: I prefer boneless turkey breast because it’s easier to slice and has more meat! You can use a bone-in turkey breast if you prefer. It will add more flavor to the meat, but you will also need to cut and remove the bones and skin after it is cooked.
- Rest: Allowing the turkey to rest before carving gives the juices time to distribute evenly through the meat. It sounds weird, but it’s totally true. Let it rest before cutting.
- Thaw: Be sure to thoroughly thaw your turkey breast in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Do not thaw at room temperature.
- Gravy: Make gravy to go with it!
How to Store Crock Pot Turkey Breast Leftovers
- In the Refrigerator: If you have any leftovers store them in the fridge in a tightly sealed container or even a freezer bag for up to 4-5 days.
- In the Freezer: Place cooled leftover turkey in an airtight container or sealable bag. Freeze for up to 3 months! Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- To Reheat: Reheat any leftovers in the microwave until warmed through.
More Turkey Recipes to Try
Pin this now to find it later
-
Line your slow cooker with a liner or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
-
Place the onion, garlic, carrots, chicken broth, and sprigs of herbs in the bottom of the slow cooker.
-
Combine the softened butter, garlic powder, dried onion flakes, salt, paprika, sage, rosemary, thyme, and pepper in a bowl. Stir to incorporate the herbs into the butter.
-
Spread the butter mixture generously all over the thawed turkey.
-
Place the turkey into the crockpot and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. The turkey is done when the temperature reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit with a thermometer.
-
Carefully remove your turkey from the slow cooker and place it on a platter. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing and enjoy!
Updated on November 6, 2024
Published on November 24, 2020Calories: 420kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 57gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 1211mgPotassium: 118mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 4139IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
[ad_2]
Source link -
How the Electoral College Works—And Why It Exists
[ad_1]
Every presidential election year revives questions about our system of voting through the Electoral College. Teachers tell us that students find this the most perplexing feature of our constitutional system. Below, we offer an explanation of why the Electoral College exists, how it works, and what happens when the electoral count in any state is contested.
What is the Electoral College?
Americans do not vote directly for the President of the United States. Instead, they vote for presidential electors, who then vote for the president and vice-president. This process is called the Electoral College.
Why does the Electoral College exist?
The Electoral College process respects the federal character of the United States, giving certain roles to the states and others to the federal government. Much of the discussion during the Constitutional Convention revolved around measures needed to balance the powers of the state and national governments. The Electoral College process was proposed and accepted as one of these measures.
How does the process work?
The process occurs in three stages: the selection of the presidential electors; the vote of the electors for the President and Vice-President; and the counting of the electoral votes.
Step 1: Choosing Presidential Electors
Each state has the same number of electors as the combined number of its Representatives in the House of Representatives and its two Senators. The number of representatives each state has depends on its population. Delaware, for example, with a population of a little over a million people has three electoral votes because it has one Representative in Congress and two Senators. California, which has a population of almost forty million, has fifty-four electoral votes because it has fifty two Representatives and two Senators. According to the twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution, the District of Columbia, the national capital, has three electoral votes, even though it has neither a voting member of the House of Representatives, nor Senators.
To win the electoral College vote, a candidate must receive 270 votes, which is a majority of the 538 available votes.
In each state, the political parties who have candidates running for president and vice-president choose electors at some point before the general election, the election at which the people of each state vote for president. The process for choosing electors varies according to state laws because the U.S. Constitution, Article II, section 1, specifies that each state will appoint its electors “in such Manner as the Legislature” of the state “may direct.” (In addition to these state laws, a number of constitutional provisions and federal laws govern aspects of Electoral College procedures.) The electors chosen are called a slate of electors. When the people in each state vote for a presidential candidate, they are voting for his or her slate of electors.
Step 2: The Vote of the Presidential Electors
Following the general election, the Governor of each state (and the mayor of the District of Columbia) signs what is called a Certificate of Ascertainment. The Certificate must be ready at least six days before the electors meet. The certificate lists the slates of electors for each candidate, the votes each slate received, and specifies the slate chosen as the state’s electors for that election according to which candidate received the most votes. Here is an example of a Certificate of Ascertainment.
Article II, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress determines the day on which the electors cast their votes. Where they cast them is up to the state legislatures. The votes are cast on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December after the general election, usually in the state capital. Neither the U.S. Constitution nor any federal law requires that the electors cast their votes according to the popular vote in their state. The vote of the electors is recorded on a document called the Certificate of Vote. The Certificate of Vote contains a list for the President and another for the Vice President of all the electors who voted for each. All the electors sign the Certificate of Vote, which is then attached to an original of the state’s Certificate of Ascertainment. Both documents are then sealed up and sent to the National Archive.
In 37 states, the state official in charge of overseeing the state electoral process is the Secretary of State. The other states except one have a Board of Elections or a Commissioner of Elections who does this. In one state, Utah, the Lieutenant Governor is the chief election official.
Step 3: Counting the Electoral Votes
Electoral votes are counted at a Joint Session of Congress (the House and Senate meeting together) that takes place on January 6. This day is determined by federal law. The Vice President of the United States, acting in his or her role as the President of the Senate, presides over the counting and announces who has been elected president and vice-president.
Key Dates for the 2024 Presidential Election
November 5, 2024 Election Day
By December 11, 2024 Presidential Electors Appointed – Certificate of Ascertainment
December 17, 2024 Electors vote – Certificate of Vote
December 25, 2024 Electoral votes delivered to the President of the Senate and the Federal Archivist no later than the fourth Wednesday in December
January 6, 2025 Congress counts the vote
January 20, 2025 Inauguration Day
What Happens in Contested Elections?
Disputes over who won an election may occur in the states or at the Joint Session of Congress when the electoral vote count takes place. Some states have laws that require a recount if the election is particularly close or if, under certain circumstances, a candidate requests one. Candidates may go to state or federal court depending on whether they think the election process violated state or federal law or state or federal constitutional provisions. In 2000, the dispute over the election reached the Supreme Court. In 2020, Arizona’s Certificate of Ascertainment included information about court cases over the 2020 election that were decided or still pending.
When the Joint Session of Congress meets to count the electoral votes and declare who the next President and Vice-President will be, any objections to the electoral votes of the states must be made by at least one-fifth of the members of the House and one-fifth of the Senators.
If an objection has that level of support, the House and Senate meet separately to consider the objections. According to federal law, Representatives and Senators may consider only two objections to the electoral vote: the electors were not certified legally by a Certificate of Ascertainment or the vote of an elector was irregular in some way. An objection is sustained only if both the House and the Senate vote to do so.
If objections to the electoral vote leaves no Presidential candidate with at least 270 electoral votes, or if this is the result of the election, then according to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, the House of Representatives decides the Presidential election. The House chooses from among the top three vote getters in the Electoral College by majority vote. Each state has one vote. The District of Columbia would not have a vote because it does not have a voting member in the House. If no Vice-Presidential candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes, then according to the 12th Amendment the Senate elects the Vice President. The Senate chooses between the two top vote getters by majority vote. Each Senator has a vote.
Check out this related blog: A Conversation with John Dinan, Editor of our core document collection, Federalism.
[ad_2]
Source link
