President-Elect Donald Trump won a majority of electoral votes on Monday afternoon, even before states such as Hawaii had cast their votes — thus ending Monday’s Electoral College process.
Only two electors were faithless to their duty — both of them in Texas. Democrat Hillary Clinton lost more of her electors in places such as Washington State, where she lost four of 12 electors.
Texas gave Trump 36 votes, putting him over the 270 mark and securing his final tally at 304 votes.
Only two electors were faithless to their duty — both of them in Texas. In fact, Democrat Hillary Clinton lost more of her electors in places such as Washington State, where she lost four of 12 electors. Her exact vote total was still unclear by 6 p.m.
Texans celebrated their achievement. “By the way, Texas now puts Mr. Trump over the top,” said the chairwoman of the Texas Republican electors.
The vote tally “seals the deal” and will be made official by Congress on Jan. 6, 2017. Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence will be sworn in on Jan. 20.
The day for electoral counting was long — much like the 2016 election. According to the Associated Press, by 5:15 p.m. ET, Trump had gathered the 268 electoral votes from all the other “red states” to form the base of what he needed to win. But he needed 270 to be the winner before Congress makes it official.
A number of missing Texas electors delayed Trump’s Texas vote total. The Texas electors met at 3 p.m. ET, but had to replace four missing electors. At least one of the missing electors, Art Sisneros, had said he would not vote for Trump.
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The electors then began a time-consuming nominating process to replace the four electors. It took almost two hours for the electors to choose new delegates, a chairwoman, and a secretary for the vote. By 5:10 p.m. ET, the electors were ready to vote.
One elector, though, had vowed not to vote for Trump. And he didn’t. And former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul got one surprise vote. It didn’t matter in the end.
On Jan. 6, Vice President Joe Biden will preside over the electoral certifications and will announce the winners. But first, each state’s electors had to meet today, after a long and contentious month of lobbying from the Left. The Electoral College met in the various state capitals to scattered protests.
“You’re selling us to Russia,” one woman shouted as the Wisconsin electors met in Madison early Monday afternoon.
“No, Putin,” one man said before he was led out by police.
An Indiana elector said when he was a Mitt Romney elector in 2012, no one called him and the vote was relatively uneventful.
After Wisconsin’s electoral votes were announced, some protesters in the crowd went wild. “You sold out our country,” one yelled as cameras rolled.
Then the protesters chanted, “Shame,” as if the electors were taking a walk of penance through the streets, led by the High Sparrow of “Game of Thrones.”
“It’s my America,” one woman screamed. “Listen to your hearts.”
When it was clear the meeting would finalize its presidential business, one woman got up with her coat in tow and yelled at the electors, “I’m embarrassed to be an American today. I’m embarrassed.”
At the Pennsylvania state capital, protesters also threw a fit when the Keystone State gave its 20 votes to Trump. “You just gave us Adolf Hitler,” one woman yelled.
The various electors themselves often included political celebrities. President Bill Clinton was the first New York elector to cast a vote for his wife, Hillary Clinton.
In Indiana, outside the chambers of the Indiana House where electors met, protesters were confined to resorting to a new “Red Scare” by again suggesting Trump was a “Manchurian candidate.”
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Protesters held signs that read “Dump Comrade Trump” and “Listen to the CIA” — two placards that left-wingers would not be seen near in the 1980s.
Chuck Williams, an Indiana elector from Valparaiso, said he was strongly lobbied to not vote for Trump. He got 4,000 letters; 100,000 emails; and about 200 phone calls, Williams told LifeZette.
“That’s what makes America great, I guess,” said Williams.
Williams said when he was a Mitt Romney elector in 2012, no one called him and the vote was relatively uneventful. “The only people who showed up to watch were the night-cleaning crew,” Williams said. “This one was more interesting.”
Mike Pence also won his match for vice president, gathering 305 votes, with only one defection to Carly Fiorina.
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