Bush electors firm in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ As one elector put it, ``there is no way in Hades'' that Oklahoma's presidential electors will jump ship on George W. Bush. <br><br>To a person, electors pledged to the

Saturday, November 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ As one elector put it, ``there is no way in Hades'' that Oklahoma's presidential electors will jump ship on George W. Bush.

To a person, electors pledged to the Republican presidential nominee say they are committed by law and principle to vote for Bush when the Electoral College meets next month.

Democrat Al Gore winning the popular vote is not a consideration, they said.

Donald O'Nesky of Tulsa said he would not consider switching to anyone else ``unless George Bush walked into my living room and explained to me that I should do something different than what the people of Oklahoma elected me to do.''

Oklahoma electors interviewed by The Associated Press also were unanimous in their praise of the Electoral College over the popular vote as a method of choosing presidents.

It proves the wisdom of the founding fathers, they said, allowing smaller states like Oklahoma to have their voices heard in the presidential election process.

``It's the best way to pick a president, especially in light of being from Oklahoma,'' says elector Tom Prince of Edmond. ``Also, it diminishes what is happening in Florida from happening around the country.''

Like Prince, Bob McDowell of Monkey Island, a community in a northeastern Oklahoma resort area, said he had recently boned up on the history of the Electoral College.

``If you look at the true history, only educated property owners were allowed to vote when the nation was founded,'' McDowell said. ``They have sort of bastardized it. I am not satisfied that the popular vote for Al Gore, as recorded to date, reflects the vote of the true citizens. There are too many illegal aliens and other aliens who have been allowed to vote.''

Steve Byas, elector from Norman, said he would ``be undermining the constitutional process'' if he were to switch his vote.

``The Electoral College has operated as it was designed to do so, to protect the interests of the smaller states against the large population centers. Those who would like to do away with the Electoral College, I guess, will go after the United States Senate next.''

Some of the Oklahoma electors are upset with what they labeled a recount fiasco in Florida and expressed pride in Oklahoma's uniform method of counting ballots.

Paul Hollrah of Locust Grove said he was committed to Bush but is ``personally upset'' that a stronger candidate did not come out of the primary system. He mentioned such Republicans as Colin Powell, Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

``It is the principal duty of the Republican Party to put before the voters the very best, the very strongest candidate they could find in their ranks,'' Hollrah said.

``Had the Republican Party reverted to the convention system, I think the outcome would have been different,'' he said. ``I think the Republican Party needs to take a long, hard look at its soul. I think the mess we have in Florida could have been avoided.''

Oklahoma is one of 24 states and the District of Columbia that requires its Electoral College representatives to vote along party lines.

After the 1960 presidential election, the state passed a law making it a misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine, for an elector to abandon the candidate to which they were pledged.

The law was promoted when Harry D. Irwin of Bartlesville, an elector pledged to President Richard M. Nixon, opted to vote instead for U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd of Virginia.

Also in 1960, Oklahoma voters adopted a constitutional amendment to allow political parties to pick their own electors.

George Wiland, administrator at the Tulsa campus of Oklahoma City University, said another reason to support the Electoral College is that people in Oklahoma other states ``should not be penalized because of poor decisions by election officials in Florida, whether it be through mismanagement or incompetence.''

Wiland, an elector, said one good thing may come out of the presidential election controversy _ a move to bring uniformity to election ballots across the country.

Lance Ward, state Election Board secretary, said Oklahoma is the only state in the nation that has a uniform, computerized voting process that ``is the same for every election in every precinct in every county.''