So what if the Electoral College doesn't vote Trump?
Petitions are circulating like mad, calling on people to do things to try to stop the election process from going forward as it normally would, with Donald Trump receiving 306 electoral votes on December 19th.
The members of the Electoral College don't actually gather in one place. They traditionally assemble in the capitol city of each state to cast their votes. There are mechanics but eventually their ballots make their way to Washington, D.C. where a joint session of the Congress will review and approve the result on January 6, 2017.
There are efforts being made both by these petitions and members of the Electoral College themselves who do not want to see Donald Trump become president. So what happens if Mr. Trump does not get the required 270 electoral votes to become president?
The joint session of Congress would review the result of that vote on January 6th and then the House of Representatives would immediately go into session for the purpose of holding a contingent election. In that election, only the three people who received the most electoral votes can be elected president. Which means that unless an elector casts a ballot for someone other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, only one of them could be elected president.
We know that the Republicans hold a majority in the House. But what most people don't realize is that this vote wouldn't involve the 435 members of the House voting as individuals. Instead, the delegation from each state would meet and cast one ballot on behalf of their state. 32 of the 50 state delegations have a majority of Republicans in their membership. 17 of the remaining 18 have a majority of Democrats in their delegation. One state (Maine) has one Democrat and one Republican representing them in the next Congress. So would a majority of Republicans choose Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? Unless another candidate gets at least one electoral vote, that's the only possible outcome.
So pardon me if I think these petitions and other efforts are probably going to fail. The mechanism for choosing a president doesn't allow buyers remorse at the last possible moment to avert the disaster of a totally unqualified candidate.
The members of the Electoral College don't actually gather in one place. They traditionally assemble in the capitol city of each state to cast their votes. There are mechanics but eventually their ballots make their way to Washington, D.C. where a joint session of the Congress will review and approve the result on January 6, 2017.
There are efforts being made both by these petitions and members of the Electoral College themselves who do not want to see Donald Trump become president. So what happens if Mr. Trump does not get the required 270 electoral votes to become president?
The joint session of Congress would review the result of that vote on January 6th and then the House of Representatives would immediately go into session for the purpose of holding a contingent election. In that election, only the three people who received the most electoral votes can be elected president. Which means that unless an elector casts a ballot for someone other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, only one of them could be elected president.
We know that the Republicans hold a majority in the House. But what most people don't realize is that this vote wouldn't involve the 435 members of the House voting as individuals. Instead, the delegation from each state would meet and cast one ballot on behalf of their state. 32 of the 50 state delegations have a majority of Republicans in their membership. 17 of the remaining 18 have a majority of Democrats in their delegation. One state (Maine) has one Democrat and one Republican representing them in the next Congress. So would a majority of Republicans choose Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? Unless another candidate gets at least one electoral vote, that's the only possible outcome.
So pardon me if I think these petitions and other efforts are probably going to fail. The mechanism for choosing a president doesn't allow buyers remorse at the last possible moment to avert the disaster of a totally unqualified candidate.
posted by me at 7:38 PM
<< Home