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With unwavering support Monday from the electors who had pledged to vote for him, George W. Bush secured the Electoral College majority needed to become the 43rd president. 

Nevada’s four electors put the Texas governor over the top with a total of 271 votes, one more than the Constitution requires. 

That closed the door on the remote possibility that a few “faithless electors” who had pledged to vote for Bush might upset his victory by casting their ballots instead for Vice President Al Gore. 

All that remains is for Congress to make the votes official on Jan. 6. 

The electors gathered in their state capitals across the country to cast their votes. Hawaii cast the last votes, giving Gore a total of 266. 

Though Democrats and political reformers tried to persuade Republicans to defect, the only rogue elector was a Democrat from the District of Columbia who had been pledged to Gore but left her ballot blank as a protest against Washington’s lack of representation in Congress. 

Elsewhere, Gore’s home state of Tennessee cast its 11 electoral votes, as expected, for Bush. And Florida – after five turbulent weeks of recounts and legal challenges – kept its promise and cast its all-important 25 votes for the Republican. 

“It was like finally, we did it,” said Mel Martinez, an elector in Florida, where members hugged and high-fived after the vote. “It’s like a close ballgame and the clock ticks and your team wins.” 

As the day began, a small chance for a Democratic victory remained, with Bush holding a 271-267 lead over Gore among the 538 pledged electors. 

A switch by three Bush electors, along with the uncast Gore vote, would throw the election to the House. A switch by four Bush electors and the election was Gore’s. 

But most expected the Bush-pledged electors to keep their promise. 

In many states, electors are bound by law to keep their pledge. But other states – like Florida – have no such law. Some scholars say the laws probably are unenforceable. 

Several electors in the past have broken their pledge, most recently in 1988, but never in a close election where it could change the result. 

Gore’s running mate, Joseph Lieberman, discouraged any vote-switching as he thanked Connecticut voters for re-electing him to the Senate. 

“Al Gore and I don’t expect any surprises,” Lieberman said. Asked if they would accept such a victory, he laughed and said: “It’s too unlikely to think about.” 

Both parties mounted campaigns to reach the electors, with Bush aides seeking out all 271 votes pledged to the GOP. Democrats used e-mails and telephone calls to argue that Gore deserved to be president because he won the popular vote.  

Republicans dismissed the effort. 

“There was never any doubt,” said New Hampshire elector Wayne McDonald, who was besieged with calls from reporters and voters after news reports hinted that he was thinking of backing Gore. 

Some electors said they received thousands of e-mails. 

“They said, ‘Don’t vote for Bush. Vote for Gore. Think about what the American people want,”’ said Arkansas elector Sarah Agee, a state representative. “And I did with all my heart and voted Bush.” 

Some Gore electors criticized the Electoral College system, which for the first time since 1888 allowed the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote and with it, the presidency. Others were simply unhappy with the outcome. 

Maryland Senate President Mike Miller remained convinced Gore would have won had the U.S. Supreme Court not halted the last recount. “We only wish that somehow those 10,000 votes in Florida had been allowed to be counted,” he said. 

This year’s Electoral College meetings, like this year’s election, were unlike any seen in recent years. 

Usually the Electoral College gatherings are a rubber stamp of the popular vote. But the meetings in Indiana and Mississippi were marked by standing ovations and cheers. And the Arkansas Supreme Court chambers looked like a disco from the strobe lights of flashing news cameras. 

Bush elector Beverly Gard, an Indiana state senator, stood and took a picture of her ballot after she voted. Former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer hesitated a moment before marking his ballot for Bush: “I thought it was a Florida ballot. I couldn’t find the box.” 

“Your guy is B-U-S-H. Push it all the way through,” GOP Gov. Bill Owens told Colorado’s electors as they cast their eight votes. 

And officials in many states took the opportunity to call for voting improvements to avoid the confusion in Florida that left the election undecided for five weeks after Election Day. 

“We have to keep the revolution that began over 200 years ago moving forward. Michigan is going to lead the fight for election reform in America,” said John Kelly, an elector and Oakland University political science professor. 

In keeping with tradition, the ballots in New Hampshire were sealed with wax, placed in envelopes and carefully carried from the room. New York’s ballots, cast secretly, were placed in a 16-pound mahogany box with a brass latch. 

Each state’s result is copied six times, with one copy each sent to the U.S. Senate and the chief judge of the federal district, and two copies each to the state’s secretary of state and to the U.S. archivist in Washington. 

Like the election on Nov. 7 and the turmoil that followed, this process had an occasional glitch. 

Illinois’ ballots had a few errors, including Ralph Nader’s party listed as Reform instead of the Green Party. Electors fixed it and cast their votes. 

“The main parties were properly represented on the ballot,” Secretary of State Jesse White said. “No one would have voted for those other individuals, anyway.” 

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On the Net: 

Electoral College: http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll 

Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov 

Unofficial Electoral College Web ’zine: http://www.avagara.com/e—c