Ida Ochoteco, citizen for only two years, cast Electoral College vote
Hillsborough’s Ida Ochoteco said she was thrilled to be one of 14 members of the New Jersey Electoral College who cast their votes on Dec. 17 to formally re-elect President Barack Obama.
On that day, 538 people met in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast the official votes that gave President Obama a second term. The system, which is established in the Constitution, apportions electors by population. Technically, voters on Nov. 6 voted for these representatives pledged to a candidate.
”Being selected as one of the 14 members of the New Jersey Electoral College was an honor and a privilege in itself, but actually being present and casting my vote for President Obama was like nothing I have ever experienced,” said Ms. Ochoteco.
”I grew up in a Latin American country ruled by a military dictatorship and became a proud citizen of the United States just two years ago, so this was a totally unique experience for me,” she said. “I cannot tell you how proud I am of the democratic form of government that we have here in the United States.”
The ceremony was held in the state Senate chamber.
”We had to be there an hour early in order to cast our paper ballots before the actual ceremony,” she said. “Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno began the ceremony by calling for a moment of silence in memory of the school children who were killed in Newtown, Connecticut. Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, the chairman of the New Jersey Democratic Party, explained to us the role of the Electoral Congress and emphasized how unique our election process really is.”
Ms. Ochoteco was also impressed with the diversity of the Electoral Congress.
”There were several young people of various races who were just beginning to become involved with politics,” she said. “There was one older lady, a lifelong Democrat, who was a first-time member of the Electoral Congress. There was also one gentleman who had been a member during a previous election but had been unable to vote because the general election was won by a Republican.”
A number of high school students served as pages, handing out and picking up the ballots.
”It was great to see how excited these kids were as they were experiencing democracy in action,” Ms. Ochoteco said. “I remember thinking that one of them could be our future governor or other elected official.”
Ms. Ochoteco serves along with her husband, Al Ojeda, as co-chair of the Somerset County Democratic Committee’s Hispanic American Caucus and is also the secretary of the Hillsborough Democratic Committee. Mike Goldberg, chairman of the Hillsborough Democratic Committee, accompanied Ms. Ochoteco and observed her swearing-in.
”This experience was especially significant for me because my son, who was recently allowed to emigrate to the United States but will have to wait five years to become a citizen, is very interested in politics and was able to join us and witness the entire process,” said Ms. Ochoteco.
The number of each state’s electors is determined by a state’s number of Congressional districts, plus two Senators. A total of 270 electoral votes are needed to win the Presidential election. Nationwide, President Obama won 332 electoral votes, to Republican Mitt Romney’s 206.

