The state-by-state votes, traditionally an afterthought,
have taken on outsized significance this year in light of Trump's unprecedented
assault on the nation's democratic process. Pushing false claims of widespread
fraud, Trump has pressured state officials to throw the election results out
and declare him the winner.
In the United States, a candidate becomes president not by
winning a majority of the national popular vote but through an Electoral
College system, which allots electoral votes to the 50 states and the District
of Columbia largely based on their population.
Election results show Biden, the Democratic former vice
president, won 306 of the 538 electoral votes available – exceeding the
necessary 270. Trump, a Republican, earned 232.
In capitols such as Lansing, Michigan; Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania; and Atlanta, Georgia, electors – typically party loyalists – will
gather to formally cast those votes.
While there are sometimes a handful of “rogue” electors who
vote for someone other than the winner of their state’s popular vote, the vast
majority rubber-stamp their state’s results, and officials do not expect
anything different on Monday.
Trump has called on Republican state legislators to appoint
their own electors, essentially ignoring the will of the voters.
State lawmakers have largely dismissed the idea.
The votes cast on Monday will be sent to Congress to be
officially counted on Jan. 6, the final stage of America’s complex election
process.
Trump said late last month he will leave the White House if
the Electoral College votes for Biden, but has since pressed on with his
unprecedented campaign to overturn his defeat, filing without success numerous
lawsuits challenging state vote counts.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed
by Texas that sought to invalidate the results in four states that Biden won.
Once the Electoral College vote is complete, Trump’s sole
remaining gambit would be to convince Congress not to certify the count on Jan.
6.
Federal law allows individual lawmakers to challenge states’
electoral votes, which prompts both the House of Representatives and the Senate
to debate the objections before voting on whether to sustain them.
Mo Brooks, a conservative Republican congressman, has vowed
to file challenges when Congress reviews the vote next month, though it is all
but certain both chambers would reject his effort.
Democrats control the House, while several moderate
Republicans in the Senate have already publicly accepted Biden’s victory.
‘LANDMINES’
In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College despite losing the
popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.
The formal vote earned extra attention when some Democratic
activists called for electors to “go rogue” against Trump. In the end, seven
electors broke ranks, an unusually high number but still far too few to sway
the outcome.
Even if Monday’s vote runs smoothly, Trump’s efforts – such
as encouraging state legislatures to appoint their own sets of “dueling”
electors – have exposed the potential flaws in the system, said Robert
Alexander, a professor at Ohio Northern University who has written a book about
the Electoral College.
“There are a lot of landmines in the Electoral College, and
this election really revealed a lot of them,” he said.
While the electoral votes normally involve some pomp and
circumstance, most events this year will be significantly scaled back due to
the coronavirus pandemic.
In Michigan, for instance, the 16 electors are allowed to
bring only a single guest; Arizona has shifted its ceremony from the capitol
building to an unassuming government facility and pared down the list of
invitees. At least one state, Nevada, intends to hold its electoral vote
entirely virtually.
The process of choosing electors varies by state.
In some, state parties pick electors at local or state
conventions, while in others, the party leadership chooses the slate. In
Pennsylvania, the presidential candidates themselves pick their electors, while
in California, Democratic congressional nominees select them.
A few electors, such as Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia
gubernatorial candidate, are well known political figures. But most are
longtime state party devotees, such as Bonnie Lauria, a retired General Motors
worker in West Branch, Michigan.
“I’ve held most offices, from the local level up to state
central,” the 79-year-old said. “This is one I haven’t had the privilege of
being part of. I’m glad it’s my turn.”
Another Michigan Democratic elector, Blake Mazurek, a
52-year-old history teacher, said he hopes the vote sends a message that the
democratic system is still functioning despite Trump’s rhetoric.
“I hope there’s a sense of assurance to many in America that
our country is not entirely broken,” he said.
Reuters