What has happened in Malcolm Bligh Turnbull's first 154 days as Australia's Prime Minister?

On 14 September 2015 Liberal MP for Wentworth and former Communications Minister Malcolm Bligh Turnbull became the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, after defeating then sitting prime minister Tony Abbott in a party room poll by 55 to 44 votes.

By 21 September Turnbull had announced his new "21st Century" ministry, removing Joe Hockey, Eric Abetz, Ian Macfarlane, Kevin Andrews and Bruce Billson from the ministry in the process.

Just 154 days later and we find that his handpicked…….

Minister for Defence Materiel and Science & Special Minister of State Mal Brough had to first stand aside in December 2015, due to an Australian Federal Police investigation into allegations that he has urged a member of the staff of the House of Representative Speaker to unlawfully obtain a copy of part of the Speaker’s diary in 2012 and, then on 13 February 2016 was forced to resign as minister

Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science & Leader of the House Christopher Pyne is assisting the Australian Federal Police with inquiries in relation to those same allegations as is the Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy

Minister for Cities and the Built Environment Jamie Briggs had to resign in December 2015 after admitting he had behaved inappropriately towards a young female member of the Australian diplomatic corps whilst in Hong Kong bar in November 2015

Minister for Human Services & Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Stuart Robert had to resign in February 2016 after it was revealed that he had breached ministerial standards in 2014 by allegedly lobbying the Chinese Government on behalf of the mutual business interests of himself and a major Liberal Party donor

Minister for Vocational Education and Skills Luke Hartsuyker was involuntarily demoted to the backbench without explanation in 2016.

Then Liberal MP for Groome Ian Macfarlane, who lost the portfolio for industry and science when Turnbull ousted Abbott, finally saw the writing on the wall after a failed attempt to cross to the Nationals and, subsequently being tarred with the Stuart Robert scandal, decided to retire at the general election this year.

After his Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb also decided to bail (voluntarily) out of politics, this left him seven ministers short since taking charge in September 2015.

In Turnbull’s emergency ministerial reshuffle there are fourteen Coalition MPs and Senators who have assumed new portfolio responsibilities – some for the very first time:

New Minister for Northern Australia, Qld Nationals Senator Matt Canavan – has been in parliament less than nineteen months sitting on a slew of parliamentary committees but doing little else;

New Assistant Minister for Immigration, Qld Liberal Senator James McGrath, retaining Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister – has been in parliament less than nineteen months sitting on a dozen parliamentary committees and becoming Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister in September 2015;

New Assistant Cabinet Secretary and Assistant Minister for Finance, NSW Liberal MP for Eden-Monaro Peter Hendy – has been in parliament a little over two years sitting on two parliamentary committees before becoming Assistant Minister for Productivity in September 2015;

New Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, NSW Liberal MP for Hume Angus Taylor – been in parliament for a little over two years sitting on five committees but with no other obvious experience;

New Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister,  Nationals MP for Hinkler Keith Pitt – has been in parliament for a little over two years sitting on six parliamentary committess but with no other obvious experience.

New Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, NSW Liberal MP for Reid Craig Laundy – has been in parliament for a little over two years sitting on four parliamentary committees but with no other obvious experience;

New Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Material, Liberal MP for Wannon Dan Tehan – been in parliament for less than six years and sitting on a handful of parliamentary committees;

New Assistant Minister for Disability Services Qld Liberal MP for Ryan Jane Prentice – has been in parliament less than six years holding a number of parliamentary appointments, positions and sitting on a number of committees;

New Minister for Human Services, Liberal MP for Aston Alan Tudge – has been in parliament less than six years with two years as a parliamentary secretary and one committee membership under his belt  before becoming Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Assistant Minister for Social Services in September 2015;

New Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Liberal MP for Gippsland Darren Chester – has been in parliament for less than eight years with a two-year stint as a parliamentary secretary before becoming Assistant Minister for Defence in September 2015;

New Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Vic Liberal Senator Scott Ryan – has been in parliament less than eight years only having served as a parliamentary secretary or shadow secretary in two portfolios and as an assistant cabinet secretary since September 2015.

New Minister for International Development and the Pacific, NSW Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells – has been in parliament less than eight years, served on various committees and as parliamentary secretary before becoming Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs in September 2015.

New Minister for Infrastructure & Regional Development and Minister for Regional Communications, Deputy Leader of the Nationals & NSW Nationals Senator Fiona Nash, retaining Minister for Rural Health – has been in parliament for about twelve years mostly spent on various committees and as shadow parliamentary secretary until becoming Assistant Minister for Health and Minister for Rural Health in September 2015; and

New Minister for Trade and Investment, Liberal MP for Moncrieff Steve Ciobo – who has been in parliament for about 15 years but only became Minister for International Development and the Pacific in September 2015 after serving as a parliamentary secretary in three portfolios.

By this stage of Turnbull's prime ministership Australia has also slipped from ranking 11 to ranking 13 on the Corruption Perceptions Index which judges 168 countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be and, had come third last in the December 2015 annual assessment of 58 nations’ climate policies and carbon emission levels, with only Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan ranking worse.

Likewise the federal government budget deficit forecast has changed and not for the better – it currently stands at est. $37.4 billion.

Additionally the Turnbull Government appears to still have four reports outstanding which should have been submitted to UN committees by now - Elimination of Racial Discrimination report overdue since 2012, Human Rights report overdue since 2013, Economic Social & Cultural Rights report overdue since 2014 and, Elimination of Discrimination against Women report overdue since 2014.

While despite the government being faced with a est. $9 million renovation bill for The Lodge, Turnbull’s wife Lucy happily shopped for sofas, curtains and other soft furnishings for the official residence.

Not exactly a glowing report card for Truffles.

Services Australia can no longer off its own bat crack welfare recipients' PC, mobile, email & social media passwords in order to spy - since 13 October 2015 its been obliged to use the Australian Federal Police, an even more indiscreet Commonwealth agency.

 

On 17 July 2015 Deputy Secretary of the Dept. of Human Services (now Services Australia) Malisa Golightly, of ‘Robodebt’ notoriety, wrote to the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Criminal Justice Group in the Attorney-General’s Department, seeking the department's continued inclusion as an enforcement agency under the Commonwealth Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

At that time the Dept. of Human Services employed 295 investigators and 89 intelligence analysts who typically conducted 3,000 criminal investigation per year – using the full range of powers available to an “enforcement agency” in the 1 July 2015 version of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.

Here is a potted history of what happened after that.

ITNews, 4 April 2022:

Services Australia is using telecommunications metadata and password-bypassing software to investigate welfare recipients suspected of claiming single payments while in relationships.

The Centrelink administrator told the Attorney General’s Department (ADG) that metadata is used to detect “people who receive payments as a single person while in a marriage-like relationship,” according to documents obtained by iTnews.

Submissions to AGD in 2015 and again in 2022 [pdf], obtained through a freedom of information request, list types of fraud the agency uses welfare recipients’ telecommunications metadata to detect.

A Services Australia spokesperson told iTnews that both telecommunications metadata and password-bypassing technology from Israeli vendor Cellebrite are only used when fraudulent claims trigger criminal investigations.

This contrasts with the more common non-compliance investigations, which prevent and recover debts resulting from over-payments, such as the notorious robodebt scheme.

However, the spokesperson would not say how much money a person needs to be suspected of being overpaid before a non-compliance investigation is tipped into a criminal investigation, making it hard to estimate the extent to which the technologies are used to determine relationship-status.

Moreover, welfare recipients told iTnews, while Services Australia has said that Cellebrite is only used for criminal investigations, data may be extracted from their devices before charges have been laid; and Services Australia may continue to pursue the debt as a non-compliance investigation even if the suspect is not prosecuted…...

Metadata and relationship-status

It is not clear what types of metadata are used to glean if welfare recipients are single, however criteria listed on Services Australia’s website for “how we assess if you’re a couple” includes: “financial aspects of your relationship, the nature of your household, social aspects of your relationship, [and] if you have a sexual relationship.”

The Services Australia spokesperson told iTnews that "the key metadata we request enables us to identify records linked to telephone numbers or IP addresses to support criminal investigations.”

The spokesperson did not answer whether it includes geolocation data on a device’s connection to the internet or the sender-recipient records of a user's communications.

Services Australia was cut off from directly asking telcos for metadata in late 2015, after having had the power since 2009.

It now makes requests for metadata, "where required", through the Australian Federal Police.

Services Australia has asked the government at least twice to have its powers back.

According to the FoI, Services Australia requested AGD declare it an 'enforcement agency' under Section 176A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act (TIA) in 2015 and made the same request seven years later during a current review of electronic surveillance laws…...

In response to its 2015 application, AGD suggested “joint investigations arrangements with a criminal law-enforcement agency” as an “alternative means of accessing historical telecommunications data.” The welfare provider took the advice.

Since Services Australia started accessing telecommunications metadata indirectly through the AFP, it is unclear how many investigations involved fraud claims based on relationship-status.

According to its most recent annual reports, in 2021–22 Services Australia conducted 709 criminal investigations, 988 administrative investigations and made 203 referrals to the CDPP.

A quick look at the Commonwealth Ombudsman' views on the often erratic response of the Australian Federal Police to its requirement to comply with telecommunication data law:

https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/112476/Report-into-the-AFPs-use-and-administration-of-telecommunications-data-powers.pdf

There were several important factors that informed my decision to commence an investigation, including:

• the covert and intrusive nature of this power

• the duration and potential scale of non-compliance with the TIA Act as a result of ACT Policing accessing telecommunications data outside the AFP’s approved process

• the omission of the affected records from our Office’s regular compliance inspections

• previous recommendations our Office has made to the AFP about non-compliance with the TIA Act. 

Like law enforcement Services Australia is not eager to advertise the shortcomings of its own errant staff, but the character of this bureaucracy which uses covert surveillance on welfare recipients is not above interrogation. 

Services Australia is a federal government department which includes Centrelink.

A brief Internet search reveals for the most part sparsely worded information. The following is a compilation from government and media sources.

In a two year period covering 2005 to September 2006 Centrelink investigated 790 APS Code of Conduct complaints, with 766 referred for investigation and 585 staff found to have accessed the private information of welfare recipients or entered into a conflict of interest situation in breach of the code. Sanctions for these breaches reportedly ranged from 19 dismissals, 92 resignations and, more than 300 salary reductions or fines. Another est. 134 staff were demoted, reprimanded and warned. Five cases were referred to the AFP or Director of Public Prosecutions.

In 2006–07 Centrelink staff breached the information privacy principal in 367 instances, including 108 unauthorised access, 4 unauthorised disclosure and 10 unauthorised use. Another 17 new cases were opened with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, bringing the total to 20 cases for the year. Centrelink finalised six cases with the office and as at 30 June 2007, 14 cases were still open.

By the next financial year 2007-08, Centrelink recorded 355 privacy breaches of which 100 were unauthorised access, 13 unauthorised disclosure and 1 unauthorised use. The remainder of breaches said to be primarily mailing errors.

In 2008-09 Centrelink found 368 proven privacy incidents of which 85 were unauthorised access of information, 14 were unauthorised disclosure and 1 was unauthorised use.

Financial year 2009-10 saw Centrelink admitted to 465 proven privacy incidents and it appears to have undertaken 286 staff code of conduct complaints investigations in which 187 staff member were found to have breached the code of conduct.

The following financial year 2010-11, Centrelink undertook 197 staff code of conduct complaints investigations, including 25 investigations of improper use of internet or email, and 67 investigations of ‘improper access to personal information’. The latter occurring when employees accessed records either without a business reason, or despite being directed not to do so, for example if the records belonged to themselves, family or friends. A total of 128 Centrelink staff members were found to have breached the code of conduct.

In 2011 Centrelink & Medicare were integrated into the Dept. of Human Services.

In 2011-12  the Dept. of Human Services finalised 205 staff breaches of the APS Code of Conduct, including:

• 68 instances of improper access to personal information;

• 5 unauthorised disclosure of information;

• 10 conflict of interest;

• 48 inappropriate behaviour other than bullying or harassment;

• 17 harassment and/or bullying;

• 8 fraud other than theft;

• 1 theft;

• 8 improper use of resources other than email;

• 25 improper use of internet or email;

• 8 inappropriate use of government vehicles;

• 7 improper use of position or status;

• 4 behaviour of the employee outside of work;

• 2 misuse of drugs and/or alcohol, and

• 2 other.

The next year 2012-13 the Dept. of Human Services finalised 165 matters involving 214 breaches of the code of conduct - across the gamut of human behaviour displayed in the workplace including 82  instances of improper access to personal information, 5 unauthorised disclosure of information and 26 conflict of interest. 

In 2013-14 the Department of Human Services reported there were 472 matters involving staff breaches of code of conduct of which 234 were finalised, including 118 improper access to personal information, 4 unauthorised disclosure, 181 conflict of interest and 66 fraud. 

The next financial year 2014-15 saw reports of 1,939 substantiated privacy incidents from which there were officially 268 findings of staff breaches of the code of conduct.

In 2015-16 there were 368 findings of a breach of the code of conduct.

Note: From 21.9.2015 to 18.2.2016 Stuart Robert was the Minister for Human Services.

In 2016-17 there were a reported 304 staff breaches of the code of conduct.

NOTE: From 21.9.2015 to 18.2.2016 Stuart Robert was the Minister for Human Services.

In 2017-18 a total of 235 staff code of conduct investigations were completed and 224 findings of a breach were made.

In 2018-19 the Department of Human Services reported a total of 249 staff code of conduct investigations were completed, with 241 findings of a breach of the code.

NOTE: From  29.5.2019 to 30.3.2021 Stuart Robert was Minister for Government Services, which included the Dept. of Human Services in his portfolio.

In May 2019 the Dept. of Human Services had a name change, becoming Services Australia.

From July 2017 to end June 2019 almost half of the breaches arose from unauthorised access to information, where staff had inappropriately accessed customer records. Almost a quarter of all breaches allegedly related to incorrect reporting of income by staff who were also in receipt of Centrelink benefits.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman's Report of 2019-20 mention that;  We received more complaints about Services Australia than any other agency (11,222), although this was a decrease of 3.7 per cent compared to last year. 

In one case; A complainant’s disability support pension (DSP) was cancelled as a result of a staff error and while seeking a review of this error they received an inheritance.

A trustee acting on behalf of the complainant contacted Services Australia however was unable to have the DSP payments reinstated, despite payments not being made in excess of 12 months.

As a result of the Office’s engagement with Services Australia during an investigation, the complainant’s circumstances were reviewed and they were back-paid over $45,000 for the entire period since their DSP was cancelled. Additionally, Services Australia provided feedback to the officer who made the initial error to improve future service.

In his following 2020-21 annual report the Commonwealth Ombudsman placed Services Australia in; the number of disclosures assessed meeting the criteria under s 26 of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 and alleged kinds of disclosable conduct to which the disclosures relate. 

This involves 8 instances of:

• Contravention of a law of the Commonwealth, state or territory (5)

• Maladministration (2)

• Abuse of public trust (2)

• Wastage of public money (2)

• Conduct that results in, or that increases, the risk of danger to the health or safety of one or more persons (3)

• Abuse of public office (3)

• Conduct that may result in disciplinary action

(6) 

In 2021-22 the Commonwealth Ombudsman reported that 52% of complaints it received from the public involved Services Australia-Centrelink.

Want to know who the world can blame for what is occurring in America today?

Today at noon Washington DC time (4am Saturday 21 January Sydney time) this profoundly ignorant man, Donald John Trump, will be sworn in as 45^th President of the United States of America.

Business Insider, 8 November 2016

This is occurring because one month previously on 19 December 2016 the U.S. Electoral College¹ met to confirm Donald Trump by vote as the President², despite Trump losing the popular vote at the 8 November presidential election by over 2.8 million votes.

Electoral College places are allotted to states proportionate to each state's population, each place can only be filled by a person resident congressional district in that state and a person is barred from a place at the college if he/she holds an office of profit or trust in that state. Members generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to recognize years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our [U.S.] history as a nation, more than 99 percent of Electors have voted as pledged.

Trump won by threading a needle in the Electoral College, carrying four large states by one percentage point or less: Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Winning the Electoral College vote by 304 votes to Hillary Clinton’s 227. According to CNN seven "faithless" electors voted for other candidates, costing Trump two votes and Clinton four.

Fair Vote states that these seven electors were Democratic electors David Bright (ME - Bernie Sanders), Muhammad Abdurrahman (MN - Bernie Sanders), Michael Baca (CO - John Kasich), Esther John (WA - Colin Powell), Levi Guerra (WA - Colin Powell), Bret Chiafalo (WA - Colin Powell), Robert Satiacum (WA - Faith Spotted Eagle), David Mulinix (HI - Bernie Sanders) and two Republican electors Chris Suprun (TX - John Kasich) and Bill Greene (TX - Ron Paul).

Members of the U.S. Electoral College indicating Democratic or Republican (GOP) affiliation, according to a 19 December 2016 Politico provisional list³:

ALABAMA (GOP)
1. Frank Burt, Jr. Appears to hold an office of profit in the state of Alabama
2. Will Sellers
3. Jim Wilson Appears to hold an elected office of in the state of Alabama
4. Tim Wadsworth
5. Elbert Peters
6. Mary Sue McClurkin
7. Bob Cusanelli
8. Perry Hooper Jr.
9. Grady Thornton

ALASKA (GOP)
10. Sean Parnell
11. Jacqueline Tupou
12. Carolyn Leman

ARIZONA (GOP)
13. Bruce Ash
14. Walter Begay
15. Sharon Giese
16. Robert Graham
17. Alberto Gutier
18. Jerry Hayden
19. Carole Joyce
20. Jane Lynch
21. Foster Morgan
22. James O'Connor
23. Edward Robson

ARKANSAS (GOP)
24. Jonelle Fulmer
25. Jonathan Barnett
26. Keith Gibson No registered voter of that name in Arkansas
27. Sharon Wright
28. Tommy Land Does not appear to live in Congressional District he is representing
29. John Nabholz

CALIFORNIA (DEM)
30. Dustin Reed
31. John Ryan
32. Faith Garamendi
33. Kathleen Scott
34. Timothy Farley
35. Analea Patterson
36. Janine Bera
37. Denise Wells
38. Mark Headley
39. Susan Eggman
40. James Donahue
41. Christine Pelosi
42. Saundra Andrews
43. Mark Olbert
44. Donna Ireland
45. Steven Diebert
46. Steve Spinner
47. Celine Purcell
48. Javier Gonzalez
49. Vinzenz Koller
50. Ana Huerta
51. Stephen Natoli
52. Andres Ramos
53. Gail Teton-Landis
54. Natalie Fortman
55. Shawn Terris
56. David Warmuth
57. Laurence Zakson
58. Nury Martinez
59. Sheldon Malchicoff
60. Cathy Morris
61. Benjamin Cardenas
62. Edward Buck
63. Olivia Reyes-Becerra
64. Robert Torres
65. Priscilla Richardson
66. Gwen Moore
67. Jacki Cisneros
68. John MacMurray
69. Marie Torres
70. Jane Block
71. Andrew Krakoff
72. Karen Waters
73. Dorothy Vann
74. Sandra Aduna
75. Gregory Willenborg
76. Carmen Perez
77. Raymond Cordova
78. Francine Busby
79. Patrick Drinan
80. Christine Kehoe
81. Katherine Lyon
82. Shirley Weber
83. Eileen Feinstein Mariano
84. Laphonza Butler

COLORADO (DEM)
85. Terry Phillips
86. Mary Beth Corsentino
87. Jerad Sutton
88. Robert Nemanich
89. Amy Drayer
90. Ann Knollman
91. Sen. Rollie Heath
92. Hon. Polly Baca
93. Micheal Baca

CONNECTICUT (DEM)
94. Barbara Gordon
95. Ellen Nurse
96. Edward Piazza
97. Tyisha Walker
98. Christopher Rosario
99. Robert Godfrey
100. Steven Jones

DELAWARE (DEM)
101. Lynn Fuller
102. Lydia York
103. Linda Cavanaugh

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (DEM)
104. Anita Bonds
105. Jack Evans
106. Franklin Garcia

FLORIDA (GOP)
107. Ade Aderibigbe
108. Larry Ahern Appears to hold elected office in Florida
109. Brian Ballard
110. Kristy Banks
111. Michael Barnett
112. LizBeth Benacquisto Appears to hold elected office in Florida
113. Robin Bernstein
114. Pam Bondi Appears to hold elected office in Florida
115. John Browning Appears to hold an office of profit in Florida
116. Sharon Day
117. Dena DeCamp
118. Nick D
119. Jeremy Evans
120. John Falconetti 
121. Peter Feaman
122. Kat Gates-Skipper
123. Joe Gruters Appears to hold elected office in Florida
124. Debbie Hannifan
125. Blaise Ingoglia Appears to hold elected office in Florida
126. Tony Ledbetter
127. Mike Moberley
128. Susan Moore
129. Joe Negron Appears to hold elected office in Florida
130. Clint Pate Appears to hold an office of profit in Florida
131. Ray Rodrigues Appears to hold elected office in Florida
132. Carlos Trujillo Appears to hold elected office in Florida
133. Robert Watkins
134. Susie Wiles
135. Christian Ziegler

GEORGIA
136. Bruce Allen Azevedo
137. Brian K Burdette Appears to hold an office of profit in Georgia
138. Lott Harris Dill
139. John David Elliott
140. James Randolph Evans
141. Bobbie D. Frantz
142. Linda D. Herren
143. Rachel Blackstone Little
144. Deborah M. McCord
145. Michael Neil McNeely
146. Mary L. Padgett
147. Neil L. Pruitt
148. Joshua Kirk Shook
149. Frank B. Strickland
150. Baoky Nguyen Vu (resigned, will be replaced by alternate)
151. John B. White

HAWAII (DEM)
152. John Bickel
153. Janice Bond
154. Marie (Dolly) Strazar
155. David Mulinix

IDAHO (GOP) All 4 votes irregularly given
156. Jennifer Locke
157. Melinda Smyser
158. Layne Bangerter
159. Caleb Lakey

ILLINOIS (DEM)*
160. Toni Preckwinkle
161. Carrie Austin
162. Silvana Tabares
163. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia
164. Pam Cullerton
165. Nancy Shepardson
166. Vera Davis
167. William Marovitz
168. Barbara Flynn Currie
169. John R. Daley
170. Michelle Mussman
171. Lauren Beth Gash
172. Kevin Duffy Blackburn
173. Jerry Costello
174. Carol Ammons
175. Mark Guethle
176. Flint Taylor
177. John Nelson
178. Don Johnston
179. Shirley McCoombs

INDIANA (GOP) All 11 votes irregularly given
180. Stephanie Beckley
181. Kevin Steen
182. Kelly Mitchell
183. Daniel Bortner
184. Laura Campbell
185. Jeff Cardwell
186. Donald Hayes
187. Randall Kirkpatrick
188. Edwin Simcox
189. Ethan Manning
190. Chuck Williams Does not appear to live in the Congressional District he represents

IOWA (GOP)
191. James Whitmer
192. Don Kass
193. Dylan Keller
194. Alan Braun
195. Kurt Brown
196. Polly Granzow

KANSAS (GOP) All 6 votes irregularly given
197. Ashley J. McMillan
198. Helen Van Etten
199. Mark Kahrs Appears to hold an elected office in Kansas
200. Ron Estes
201. Clayton L. Barker
202. Kelly Arnold

KENTUCKY (GOP)
203. Jim Skaggs
204. David Disponett
205. Robert Duncan
206. Michael Carter
207. Scott Lasley
208. Walter Reichert
209. Mary Singleton
210. Troy Sheldon

LOUISIANA (GOP)
211. Chris D. Trahan Does not appear to live in the Congressional District he represents
212. Lloyd A. Harsch
213. Charles L “Charlie” Buckels
214. Louis R. Avallone
215. Kay Kellogg Katz
216. Lennie H. Rhys
217. Garrett C. Monti
218. Steven “Scott “ Wilfong

MAINE (3 D, 1 R)
219. Diane Denk
220. David Bright
221. Sam Shapiro
222. Richard Bennett (R)

MARYLAND (DEM)
223. Lesley Israel
224. Robert Leonard
225. Lillian Holmes
226. Salome Peters
227. Hagner Mister
228. Claudia Martin
229. Courtney Watson
230. Karen Britto
231. Susan Ness
232. Wayne Rogers

MASSACHUSETTS (DEM)
233. Nazda Alam
234. Mary Gail Cokkinias
235. Marie Turley
236. Dori Dean
237. Donna Smith
238. Cheryl Cumings
239. Marc Pacheco
240. Curtis Lemay
241. Jason Palitsch
242. Paul Yorkis
243. Parwez Wahid

MICHIGAN (GOP) All 16 votes irregularly given
244. John Haggard
245. Jack Holmes Does not appear to live in Michigan
246. Kelly Mitchell
247. Judy Rapanos
248. Henry Hatter
249. Robert Weitt
250. Wyckham Seelig
251. Ross Ensign
252. Michael Banerian
253. Brian Fairbrother
254. Ken Crider
255. Mary Vaughn
256. Jim Rhoades
257. William Rauwerdink
258. Hank Fuhs
259. Joseph Guzman

MINNESOTA (Dem)
260. Fred Knudson
261. Roger Gehrke
262. Marge Hoffa
263. Raymond Hess
264. Muhammed Abdurrahman
265. Betsy O’Berry
266. Mike Wammer
267. Mary Murphy
268. Jules Goldstein
269. Sherrie Pugh

MISSISSIPPI (GOP)
270. Ann Hebert
271. Joe F. Sanderson Jr.
272. Bradley R. White
273. J. Kelley Williams
274. William G. Yates Jr.
275. Wirt A. Yerger, Jr.

MISSOURI (GOP)
276. Tim Dreste
277. Janice DeWeese
278. Hector Maldonado
279. Sherry Kuttenkuler
280. Casey Crawford
281. Tom Brown
282. Cherry Warren
283. Scott Clark
284. Al Rotskoff
285. Susie Johnson

MONTANA (GOP)
286. Thelma Baker
287. Nancy Ballance
288. Dennis Scranton

NEBRASKA (GOP) All 5 votes irregularly given
289. Phil Berlin
290. John Dinkel
291. Chuck Conrad
292. Craig Safranek
293. Paul Burger

NEVADA (Dem)
294. Dayananda Prabhu Rachakonda
295. Larry Jackson
296. Joetta Brown
297. Paul Catha II
298. Greg Gardella
299. Teresa Benitez-Thompson

NEW HAMPSHIRE (Dem)
300. Bev Hollingworth
301. Terie Norelli
302. Carol Shea Porter
303. Dudley Dudley

NEW JERSEY (Dem)
304. Alaa R Abdelaziz
305. Tahsina Ahmed
306. Anthony Cureton
307. Lizette Delgado-Polanco
308. Edward Farmer
309. Christopher D. James
310. Leroy J Jones Jr
311. Retha R Onitiri
312. Marlene Prieto
313. Ronald G Rios
314. Hetty M Rosenstein
315. Kelly Stewart Maer
316. Mary Ann Wardlow
317. Heriberta Loretta Winters

NEW MEXICO (DEM)
318. Lorraine Spradling
319. Edward Torres
320. Noyola Archibeque
321. John Padilla
322. Roxanne Allen

NEW YORK (DEM)
323. William J. Clinton
324. Andrew M. Cuomo
325. Kathy C. Hochul
326. Thomas P. DiNapoli
327. Eric T. Schneiderman
328. Carl E. Heastie
329. Andrea Stewart-Cousins
330. Bill de Blasio
331. Letitia A. James
332. Scott M. Stringer
333. Melissa Mark-Viverito
334. Byron W. Brown
335. Christine C. Quinn
336. Basil A. Smikle, Jr.
337. Melissa Sklarz
338. Mario F. Cilento
339. Rhonda Weingarten
340. George K. Gresham
341. Daniel F. Donohue
342. Stuart H. Appelbaum
343. Gary S. LaBarbera
344. Lovely A. Warren
345. Stephanie A. Miner
346. Katherine M. Sheehan
347. Anastasia M. Somoza
348. Sandra Ung
349. Ruben Diaz, Jr.
350. Hazel L. Ingram
351. Rachel D. Gold

NORTH CAROLINA (GOP)
352. Linda Harper Does not appear to live in Congressional District she represents
353. Charles Staley Does not appear to live in Congressional District he represents
354. Karen Kozel Does not appear to live in Congressional District she represents
355. Martha Jenkins
356. Celeste Stanley
357. Donald Webb Does not appear to live in Congressional District he represents
358. Robert Muller
359. Jennifer Dunbar
360. Andrea Arterburn
361. Glenn Pinckney Sr. Does not appear to live in Congressional District he represents
362. Mark Delk
363. David Speight  Does not appear to live in Congressional District he represents
364. Ann Sullivan Does not appear to live in Congressional District she represents
365. Lee Green
366. David Smuski

NORTH DAKOTA (GOP)
367. Duane Mutch
368. John Olson
369. Ronald Carlisle

OHIO (GOP) All 18 votes irregularly given
370. Alex Triantafilou
371. Mary Anne Christie
372. Cory Schottenstein
373. Jim Dicke II
374. Cheryl Blakely
375. Marilyn Ashcraft
376. Christina Hagan
377. Richard Jones
378. Tom Coyne
379. Judy Westbrock
380. Ralph King
381. Leonard Hubert
382. Tracey Winbush
383. James Wert
384. Brian Schottenstein
385. Curt Braden
386. LeeAnn Johnson
387. Ed Crawford

OKLAHOMA (GOP)
388. David Oldham
389. Teresa Turner
390. Mark Thomas
391. Bobby Cleveland
392. Laurie Beth
393. Charlie Potts
394. George Wiland

OREGON (DEM)
395. Frank James Dixon
396. Karen A. Packer
397. Austin Folnagy
398. Leon H. Coleman
399. Harry W. "Sam" Sappington III
400. Timothy Norman Powers Rowan
401. Laura Gillpatrick

PENNSYLVANIA (GOP) All 20 votes irregularly given
402. Robert Asher
403. Mary Barket
404. Robert Bozzuto
405. Theodore Christian
406. Michael Downing
407. Margaret Ferraro
408. Robert Gleason
409. Christopher Gleason
410. Joyce Haas
411. Ash Khare
412. James McErlane
413. Elstina Pickett
414. Patricia Poprik
415. Andrew Reilly
416. Carol Sides
417. Glora “Lee” Snover
418. Richard Stewart
419. Lawrence Tabas
420. Christine Toretti
421. Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh

RHODE ISLAND (DEM)

422. Clay Pell
423. Grace Diaz
424. L. Susan Weiner
425. Frank J. Montanaro

SOUTH CAROLINA (GOP)
426. Glenn McCall
427. Matt Moore
428. Terry Hardesty
429. Jim Ulmer
430. Brenda Bedenbaugh
431. Bill Conley
432. Shery Smith
433. Moye Graham
434. Jerry Rovner

SOUTH DAKOTA (GOP)
435. Dennis Daugaard
436. Matt Michels
437. Marty Jackley

TENNESSEE (GOP)
438. Joey Jacobs
439. Beth Scott Clayton Amos
440. Jason Mumpower
441. Susan Mills
442. Liz Holiway
443. Lynne Davis
444. Tom Lawless
445. Mike Callahan
446. Pat Allen
447. Shannon Hanes
448. Drew Daniel

TEXAS (GOP)
449. Marty Rhymes Does not appear to live in Congressional District she represents
450. Thomas Moon
451. Carol Sewell
452. John Harper
453. Sherrill Lenz
454. Nicholas Ciggelakis
455. William Hickman
456. Landon Estay
457. Rex Lamb
458. Rosemary Edwards
459. Matt Stringer
460. Shellie Surles
461. Melissa Juett Kalka
462. Kenneth Clark
463. Sandara Cararas
464. David Thackston
465. Robert Bruce
466. Marjorie Forster Does not appear to live in Congressional District she represents
467. Scott Mann
468. Marian Stanko
469. Curtis Nelson
470. Tina Gibson
471. Kendell Muenzler
472. Alexander Kim
473. Virginia Able
474. John Dillard
475. Thomas Knight
476. Marian Knowlton
477. Rex Teter
478. Stephen (Chris) Suprun Jr.
479. Jon Jewett
480. Susan Fischer
481. Loren Byers
482. William Lawrence Greene
483. Mary Lou Erben
484. Art Sisneros
485. Candace Noble
486. Fred Farias

UTAH (GOP)
487. Peter Greathouse
488. Jeremy Jenkins
489. Kris Kimball
490. Cherilyn Eagar
491. Chia-Chi Teng
492. Richard Snelgrove

VERMONT (DEM)
493. Peter Shumlin
494. Martha Allen
495. Tim Jerman

VIRGINIA (DEM)
496. James O’Connor
497. Vivian Paige
498. Delegate Lashrecse Aird
499. Bethany Johnston Rowland
500. Jasper Hendricks
501. Deb Fitzgerald
502. Harold Boyd
503. Ginny Peter
504. Jeanette Sarver
505. Kathy Stewart Shupe
506. Keith Scarborough
507. Susan Rowland
508. Terry Frye

WASHINGTON (DEM)
509. Varisha Khan
510. Bret Chiafolo
511. Ryleigh Ivey
512. Levi Guerra
513. Phillip Tyler
514. Julie Johnson
515. Chris Porter
516. Dan Carpita
517. Esther John
518. Eric Herde
519. Robert Satiacum
520. Elizabeth Caldwell

WEST VIRGINIA (GOP)
521. Ron Foster
522. Patrick Morrisey
523. Ann Urling
524. Mac Warner
525. Bill Cole

WISCONSIN (GOP) All 10 votes irregularly given
526. Steve King
527. Mary Buestrin
528. Kim Travis
529. Kim Babler
530. Brian Westrate
531. Brad Courtney
532. Kathy Kiernan
533. Dan Feyen
534. Jim Miller
535. Bill Berglund

WYOMING (GOP) All 3 votes irregularly given
536. Karl Allred
537. Bonnie Foster
538. Teresa Richards

1. The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.

The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.

The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators. Read more about the allocation of electoral votes.

Under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution, the District of Columbia is allocated 3 electors and treated like a state for purposes of the Electoral College. For this reason, in the following discussion, the word “state” also refers to the District of Columbia.

Each candidate running for President in your state has his or her own group of electors. The electors are generally chosen by the candidate’s political party, but state laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are. Read more about the qualifications of the Electors and restrictions on who the Electors may vote for.

The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. You help choose your state’s electors when you vote for President because when you vote for your candidate you are actually voting for your candidate’s electors.

Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate. However, Maine and Nebraska each have a variation of “proportional representation.” Read more about the allocation of Electors among the states and try to predict the outcome of the Electoral College vote.

After the presidential election, your governor prepares a “Certificate of Ascertainment” listing all of the candidates who ran for President in your state along with the names of their respective electors. The Certificate of Ascertainment also declares the winning presidential candidate in your state and shows which electors will represent your state at the meeting of the electors in December of the election year. Your state’s Certificates of Ascertainments are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of the official records of the presidential election. See the key dates for the 2016 election and information about the roles and responsibilities of state officials, the Office of the Federal Register and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the Congress in the Electoral College process.

The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December after the presidential election. The electors meet in their respective states, where they cast their votes for President and Vice President on separate ballots. Your state’s electors’ votes are recorded on a “Certificate of Vote,” which is prepared at the meeting by the electors. Your state’s Certificates of Votes are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of the official records of the presidential election. See the key dates for the 2016 election and information about the roles and responsibilities of state officials and the Congress in the Electoral College process.

Each state’s electoral votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on the 6th of January in the year following the meeting of the electors. Members of the House and Senate meet in the House chamber to conduct the official tally of electoral votes. See the key dates for the 2016 election and information about the role and responsibilities of Congress in the Electoral College process.

The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results of the vote. The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.

The President-Elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th in the year following the Presidential election. [https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html]

2. The date for officially counting the electoral votes is fixed by law as January 6 following each presidential election.

3. Annotations in red reflect part of the contents of ELECTORAL VOTE OBJECTION PACKET, 4 January 2017.