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Sunday, November 6, 2016

If these two yahoos throw the election to Trump, then they need to be subjected to any and every kind of criminal or civil charges we can find!

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Two Democratic electors threaten to throw the election to Donald Trump
Can we get rid of the Electoral College now? Please?
By Ian Millhiser, November 6, 2016

In the looming election, a solid majority of the American people could cast a ballot for Hillary Clinton. Yet, thanks to two guys from Washington state, Donald Trump could be sworn in as the next president of the United States.

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.
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Washington state electors on the fence about voting for Hillary Clinton
By Reena Flores, November 6, 2016

Two Democratic electors from the state of Washington are considering bucking tradition and refusing to vote for Hillary Clinton, even if the nominee wins the popular vote in the state on Nov. 8.

One -- a man named Robert Satiacum, who is a member of Washington’s Puyallup tribe -- has promised that he will absolutely not be casting his ballot for Clinton, telling the Associated Press in an interview that “she will not get my vote, period.”

“She doesn’t care about my land or my air or my fire or my water,” Satiacum, a Bernie Sanders supporter, said of Clinton.

The Puyallup tribe, according to the Seattle Times, is one of the state’s largest contributors to Clinton’s presidential campaign, and the Democratic candidate even visited the Puyallup reservation back in March, just before the state’s primary caucuses.

Washington state has 12 Democratic electors, and while it’s rare for “faithless electors,” as they’re called, to make much of a difference in the general election, the tight national race is amping up pressure for both campaigns in their mad scramble for votes. One candidate must get a majority of the 538 Electoral College votes - at least 270 -- in order to win the presidential election.

Come Nov. 8, another Democratic elector from Washington, Bret Chiafalo, told the Seattle Times he isn’t yet sure what he’ll do.

Chiafalo is still considering being a “conscientious elector” and ignoring the result of his state’s popular vote.

“I have no specific plans, but I have not ruled out that possibility,” he said.

Electors are not legally bound to vote for their party’s nominee in several states, though they can face a penalty if they go down a different path. In Washington, faithless electors would be fined $1,000. 
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