Four Democrats who had been committed to back Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Electoral College cast ballots for other people on Monday, the largest number of “faithless electors” seen in well over a century.
Republican president-elect Donald Trump lost two ‘faithless electors’ in Texas but received 304 out of the 306 electoral votes he garnered in the November 8 presidential election, comfortably exceeding the 270-vote requirement to hold the office of US president. Clinton ended with 228 votes.
The 538 electors voted across the country to confirm Trump as the next president. The event is normally a formality but took on extra prominence this year after some Democrats urged electors to revolt and switch to Clinton, who won the national popular vote on Nov. 8.
In the end, it was not Republicans breaking ranks. The Democratic dissidents – four from Washington state and one from Maine – underscored deep divisions within their party and effectively dashed long-shot hopes by some activists that Republicans pledged to Trump might back Clinton.
It appeared to be the largest number of electors not supporting their party’s nominee since 1872, when 63 Democratic electors did not vote for party nominee Horace Greeley, who had died after the election but before the Electoral College convened, according to Fairvote.org. Republican Ulysses S. Grant had won re-election in a landslide.
It was a surprising twist to have Democratic electors change their votes and become what is known as “faithless electors.”
Four of the 12 Democratic electors in Washington state broke ranks, with three voting for Colin Powell, a former Republican secretary of state, and one for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American elder who has protested oil pipeline projects in the Dakotas.
In Maine, Democratic elector David Bright said he would cast his vote for Clinton’s rival for the party nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who carried the state in the party nominating contest.
In Colorado, where a state law requires electors to cast their ballots for the winner of the state’s popular vote, elector Michael Baca tried to vote for Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich – and was replaced. Baca had waged an unsuccessful legal battle against the law.
The Electoral College votes will be officially counted during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
‘FAITHLESS ELECTORS’
Twenty-four states have laws trying to prevent electors – most of whom have close ties to their parties – from going rogue. But once in a while, “faithless electors” will ignore their pledge and change their vote.
The most recent instance of a “faithless elector” was in 2004, according to the Congressional Research Service. There have been just eight since 1900, each in a different election.
Some Democrats had urged Republican electors to change their votes to Clinton because of her victory in the popular vote.
In Austin, Texas, on Monday, about 100 people chanting: “Dump Trump” and waving signs reading: “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You” gathered at the state capitol trying to sway electors to change their votes. Texas is the largest state Trump won in the election.