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| Two Democratic electors threaten to throw the election to Donald Trump | |
| 2016-11-07 | |
Two men who were selected as members of the Electoral College in the likely event that Clinton wins the state of Washington, are, at the very least, uncertain that they will honor the will of the people of their state. Robert Satiacum told the Seattle Times that he is "absolutely not" voting for Clinton and that "I hope it comes down to a swing vote and it’s me," because then "she ain’t getting it. Maybe it’ll wake this country up." The other likely elector, Bret Chiafalo, says that he has "not ruled out that possibility" of voting against Clinton. It is unlikely, but not impossible, that the race could be close enough that these two men could effectively rig it for Donald Trump. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the Electoral College, or at least 270 votes, then the House of Representatives will choose the president, with each state delegation being allowed to cast a single vote. Such an arrangement would overwhelmingly favor the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. The fact that two men who think they have the right to override the will of their states’ voters were chosen as Democratic electors appears to be the fault of an utterly reckless method the Washington Democratic Party uses to name those electors. Electors were chosen at the state party convention in June, an event where so-called Bernie-or-Busters were overrepresented. In other words, rather than, say, allowing the party’s nominee to name reliable electors, the party chose to select electors during an emotional primary season at an event that could be gamed by a minority faction that was willing to sabotage the party if Democrats did not chose that faction’s preferred nominee. Nevertheless, if these two electors succeed in throwing the election to Donald Trump, the lion’s share of the blame should rest with the framers of the Constitution, who gave us the Electoral College system in the first place. Thanks to this system, the losing candidate has gone on to be the president in four different presidential elections -- most recently when Al Gore was "defeated" by Texas Gov. George W. Bush. | |
| Posted by:Blossom Unains5562 |
| #8 The question is whether these electors mean it or are just negotiating for consideration from Clinton for their favorite causes. |
| Posted by: Zebulon and Tenille2425 2016-11-07 15:44 |
| #7 The Electoral College protects us out here in rural 'flyover country', Pan. Otherwise the largest urban areas (with the usual population demographics) would always be the deciding factor for how this country fills the Administrative Branch (not that it isn't 'loaded' already). Fairly good summary here |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2016-11-07 11:41 |
| #6 The electoral college is a problem. We can all gloat they will vote for trump, but if they were in a red state wanting Hillary the comments here would be visceral the other way. We need to have voter reform. We need to work to find a better way to elect our representatives. We need to get this country to a point where America's brightest are willing to serve. The thought of going through anything that looks like a primary drives away all people of honor that respect their privacy and leave the only people that are willing to go through the mess are the extreme narcissists and the power greedy. Not what we want running our national affairs. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2016-11-07 10:00 |
| #5 They shouldn't be punished for recognizing the criminal enterprise for what it is, having an epiphany, seeing the light and wanting to bale. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-11-07 07:51 |
| #4 ...appears to be the fault of an utterly reckless method the Washington Democratic Party uses to name those electors. Simpsons character sez - HA HA! |
| Posted by: Raj 2016-11-07 07:35 |
| #3 ...I would expect lawfare on Malificent's part were this to happen - that the electors be ordered to cast their votes in accordance with 'the will of the people' or that they be replaced by ones who will. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2016-11-07 04:50 |
| #2 Putting the country over the party - what kind of mental disease is what? Or, just trying to extort something for themselves? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-11-07 03:39 |
| #1 In other words..... The State of Washington has two fellas who won't stay BOUGHT ! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-11-07 02:04 |