The Trump Electoral College problem has been swirling for days now. Democrats are outraged that Donald Trump – who lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College – will now be the 45 th president of the United States. On the other hand, many have noted that the Electoral College offers a loophole that could – in theory – put Hillary Clinton in the White House come January.
https://twitter.com/DebraMessing/status/797313282302418944
Over the last few days, protesters across the country have made clear their objection to the idea of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Others are taking a different approach, signing a petition requesting that the Electoral College choose someone other than Donald Trump as president. Originally reported by CBS News , this petition currently has more than 2 million signatures .
From George Bush to Donald Trump
Electoral College controversies have become a regular thing in American elections lately. In part, this is because of the partisan nature of politics in the United States in recent decades and the polarization of the electorate.
It’s been only 16 years since George W. Bush beat Al Gore in the Electoral College, despite having lost the popular vote in the United States. At that time – after considerable wrangling in the courts and during recounts – Gore conceded the election to Bush.
Abolish the Electoral College w/ @EricHolder Sign the @MoveOn petition here: https://t.co/1efpU3XADU pic.twitter.com/gDbQWOvoeZ
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) November 12, 2016
Clinton Losing to Trump
Despite what some people think, the citizens of this country do not directly elect the president. Instead, Electoral College electors will be meeting in their respective state capitals on December 19 to cast the official Electoral College votes for president of the United States.
The Electoral College serves as an intermediary between the citizens and the election process. This may seem fairly undemocratic – and perhaps it is – but it is how the founders of our Republic set the system up.
Millions Sign Onto Call for Electoral College to Award the Presidency to Pop. Vote Winner Clinton https://t.co/AoN2bBN8ns via @democracynow
— Martin Screeton (@LivingNLight) November 12, 2016
Each state sends a certain number of electors to their capital to vote for president. Usually – and traditionally – these electors vote for whoever won the general election popular vote in their particular state. However, this hasn’t always been the case, which opens an unlikely – but still theoretically possible – opportunity for Hillary Clinton.
Electoral College Rebellion
From the federal government’s perspective at least, it is perfectly legal for electors to switch their vote to some other candidate, regardless of who their state voted for. This candidate doesn’t even have to have been someone running for president.
In fact, this has actually happened a few times in our history. Referred to as faithless electors, 71 such electors have changed their vote because the candidate chosen by voters in their state had died before the Electoral College vote. But 82 electors have also changed their vote because they disagreed with their state’s voters.
More than 2 MILLION sign petition for Electoral College to elect Hillary Clinton https://t.co/4PEhXlw4BI
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) November 12, 2016
Relevance to Donald Trump
Electoral College electors choosing to vote for someone other than Donald Trump would not be totally unprecedented, but it would certainly be improbable and unexpected. Even so, this loophole does exist and the founders put it in place for precisely this reason.
Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist Papers about the dangers of electing individuals who were totally unqualified for the office, unscrupulous and who had a talent for garnering popular approval. In other words, someone very much like Donald Trump. This was Hamilton’s principal argument for the Electoral College.
“The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
Is this likely to happen? No it isn’t. As reported by NBC News , the laws in some states – the constitutionality of which haven’t yet been tested – forbid electors from voting for anyone other than the people’s choice. However, in some states this isn’t the case.
Moreover, the penalties for violating this law in those states where electors are required to vote for the popular vote winner are relatively minor. So it is theoretically possible that Hillary Clinton – or at least someone other than Donald Trump – could end up in the White House next year because of a Trump Electoral College rebellion.
[Featured Image by Rick Wilking-Pool/Getty Images]
