Q: Could you provide the final popular vote totals for the presidential election, including for the minor candidates? Also, could you provide the final Electoral College count? I haven’t seen either in recent days.
—Donald Pattillo, Marietta
A: Hillary Clinton had 64.8 million votes (48.2 percent) to Donald Trump's 62.5 million votes (46.4 percent) through Nov. 27, according to the Cook Political Report.
The report is a “non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns,” it states on its website (cookpolitical.com).
Other candidates had received 7.3 million votes (5.4 percent).
Gary Johnson (Libertarian) had 4.4 million votes, Jill Stein (Green) had 1.4 million and Evan McMullin (Independent) had about 569,000, according to Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections (uselectionatlas.org).
Trump officially was declared the winner in Michigan on Monday to give him 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232, The Associated Press reported.
Stein is demanding recounts in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Q: Why was it not a violation of the federal anti-nepotism law when John Kennedy nominated his brother Robert for attorney general?
—Ben Bowen, Atlanta
A: The law was passed in 1967, six years after President John F. Kennedy appointed his brother Robert to the post of attorney general.
President Lyndon B. Johnson, it’s been reported, pushed for the statute, which was part of the Postal Revenue and Federal Salary Act of 1967, because he disliked Robert Kennedy.
It became known as the “Bobby Kennedy Law,” Time wrote earlier this month.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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