Remember all that talk about a ‘Peaceful transition of power’. That’s out the window.
Michael Banerian, an Electoral College Voter in Michigan is a young Republican that has faith in our current system. He is set to cast his ballot on December 19 for Donald Trump but has been facing very disturbing pressure to become a ‘Faithless Elector’ by changing his vote.
Watch Banerian talk about it here:
On Dec. 19, the 22-year-old Banerian is scheduled to join 15 other Michiganians to cast their electoral votes for Republican President-elect Donald Trump. But Trump’s opponents have deluged Banerian and other GOP electors with pleas and nasty emails to reverse course and cast their ballots for Clinton, according to the Michigan Republican Party.
“You have people saying ‘you’re a hateful bigot, I hope you die,’ ” he said. “I’ve had people talk about shoving a gun in my mouth and blowing my brains out. And I’ve received dozens and dozens of those emails. Even the non-threatening-my-life emails are very aggressive.”…
…“Even if I could, I wouldn’t be remotely interested in changing my vote,” said Banerian, a political science senior at Oakland University and youth vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party. “The people of Michigan spoke, and it’s our job to deliver that message.”…
…Even if Banerian or another elector had a change of heart, other Michigan electors would just cast another vote for Trump, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
In other states, some electors could change their minds and cast votes for Clinton, a prospect that is considered highly unlikely since candidates tend to recruit diehard supporters to be electors.
An online petition on change.org signed by more than 4.3 million people is calling on the nation’s electors to vote for Clinton instead of Trump…
…While some lobbying is peaceful, other electors report receiving intimidating emails or messages, Michigan Republican Party spokeswoman Sarah Anderson said Wednesday. The Detroit News couldn’t reach several electors on Wednesday.
“Hearing from them that they are also receiving threats, I’m interested in getting a consensus from the group … and seeing if it’s something that we should report to the police,” Anderson said. “It’s obviously something that we’re taking very seriously.”
Banerian said he has not yet reported any threats to the police but is considering doing so.
Read more: Detroit News
But wait! There’s more!
Electors in Michigan aren’t the only ones being targeted:
Electors across the country have been barraged with phone calls and emails from voters urging them to become ‘faithless electors’ on December 19 in a last-ditch effort to block Donald Trump from the presidency.
In the US, presidents are elected by the Electoral College rather than the popular vote, where Hillary Clinton is 2.2million ballots ahead of Trump.
In most states, electors must cast a vote for the winner of their state’s popular vote or face fines ranging from around $500 to $1,000.
Other states like Arizona, Idaho, and Georgia don’t have a rule against electors going rogue…
…’It is total harassment,’ Robert Graham, an elector and chairman of the state Republican Party, told the Arizona Republic.
Arizona elector Saron Geise estimates that she has received as many as 8,000 calls and says she has stopped picking up altogether.
Some electors like Banerian hope their votes will uphold the electoral system, while others are actively trying to dismantle it.
At least six Democratic electors have signed an agreement to try to block Donald Trump from securing the presidency with 270 Electoral College votes.
Michael Baca, a registered Democrat who supported Bernie Sanders, is considering rallying behind Mitt Romney or John Kasich if that means coaxing Republican electors away from Trump.
Even if he is unsuccessful in his efforts, Baca said: ‘I do think that a byproduct would be a serious look into Electoral College reform.’
Read more: Daily Mail
Here is Michael Baca of Colorado’s controversial scheme:
NOTE: Colorado law does have ‘pledged electors’ that are legally bound to vote with the state’s popular vote, but the penalty for becoming a ‘Faithless Elector’ is minimal.
The current Electoral College standings have Trump with 306 and Hillary at 232.
It would require a number of ‘Faithless Electors’ to drop Trump below 270, so having Hillary or a ‘moderate’ Republican win is a long shot.
The Electoral College voters aren’t suppose to pick a candidate that wasn’t on the ballot.
The Democrats are making this election into a circus because they don’t like the results.
They suddenly don’t like the Electoral College… again. Like they didn’t like it in 2000.
How far will they go?
They don’t like the Presidential results and want to change the final national result.
Baca is looking to throw the Electoral College votes for Hillary to a ‘moderate’ Republican.
Colorado, a state that voted Democrat would then be voting for a Republican. Is that fair to the voters there?
They want to change the final state result.
Are they going to look county by county next?
How about polling station by polling station?
Maybe house to house?
Where does it end?
