Greg wrote; <<"Of course the original finish was a hand-rubbed French polish. Is it reasonable for me to try to reproduce that, or are there less-expensive modern techniques that one could use and get similar results?">> Greg french polishing is not all that difficult although it is more time consuming. I am not aware of any "modern" technique that will give the same results although there are some which will give similar results. The secret is in the "depth" that varnish takes on via polishing that no other material gives...in my opinion. :-) Jim Bryant (FL) ------------------------------------------------ following specifically for Greg. p.s. The operative word there was "permitted". What the EC home page Q&A has to say vis a vis Electors: "Are electors required to vote for the candidate who won his or her State's popular vote? There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States (24 plus DC at last count) require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories -- electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties. The Supreme Court has held that the Constitution does not require that electors be completely free to act as they choose and therefore, political parties may extract pledges from electors to vote for the parties' nominees. Some State laws provide that so-called "faithless electors" may be subject to fines or may be disqualified for casting an invalid vote and be replaced by a substitute elector. The Supreme Court has not specifically ruled on the question of whether pledges and penalties for failure to vote as pledged may be enforced under the Constitution. No elector has ever been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged. Today, it is rare for electors to disregard the popular vote by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party's candidate. Electors generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to recognize years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our history as a nation, more than 99 percent of electors have voted as pledged." end quote.
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