It wasn't the most pleasant duty for Vice President Dan Quayle.
But he presided last Wednesday over a joint session of Congress that counted Electoral College ballots that made official his and President Bush's defeat.No surprises came as Bill Clinton and Al Gore won with 370 votes - 100 more than the 270 needed.
U.S. presidents are not elected directly by popular vote, but instead by the little understood Electoral College.
The winner of each state's popular vote is entitled to that state's electoral votes. Each state receives as many electoral votes as it has members in Congress - so Utah has five. The District of Columbia, which has only one non-voting House delegate, is also given three votes.
The 538 electors cast ballots in their state capitols on Dec. 14.
The party that wins the popular vote in a state selects its few official electors. Utah Republicans chose their electors during their state convention last June. They were Utah Republican Chairman Bruce Hough, former Gov. Norm Bangerter, former Lt. Gov. W. Val Oveson, Republican National Committee member Arlene Ellis and former party chairman Richard Snelgrove.
Electors are expected to vote for their party's presidential and vice presidential nominees, but are not legally bound to do so. Wednesday's session brought no surprises.
Despite this landslide electoral college victory, Clinton only beat Bush by 5 percentage points in the popular election.
Clinton won 43.2 percent of the popular vote, while Bush took 37.7 percent and Perot took 19 percent.
It is possible for a presidential candidate to win the popular vote and still lose in the Electoral College. For example, Samuel J. Tildon won the popular vote against Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, but lost in the Electoral College by one vote. Grover Cleveland won the popular vote in 1888, but lost to Benjamin Harrison in the Electoral College.
When no one wins a majority in the Electoral College, the House chooses the president. For example, in 1824, Andrew Jackson won both the popular vote and the electoral college - but not by a majority. John Quincy Adams won the support of the House and was elected president.
Last year, many feared that Perot's entry in the expected close race could likewise send the election to the House because a Perot victory in one large state, such as Texas, might have kept either of the other candidates from winning a majority.
However, Perot won no states and no electoral votes. The closest he came was in Utah - the only state where he finished second.