Electoral College live results: 6 ‘faithless electors;’ Trump officially wins presidency
President-elect Donald Trump has received 304 of the Electoral College votes cast so far today compared to 166 for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to the latest tallies.
The figures show Trump topping the 270 threshold needed to officially win the presidency.
The day was not without drama as Texas, which has 38 Electoral College votes, saw a standoff as some electors refused to attend and had to be replaced. The state’s electors eventually gave 36 votes to Trump, one to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and one to former presidential candidate Ron Paul. The Texas votes put Trump over the threshold needed to win the election.
Results are not in from California or Nevada.
As of 4:30 p.m. CST, there have been six “faithless electors” – the name given to electors who vote contrary to the candidate that won their state. While much of the attention on electors abandoning their candidate centered on Trump, the majority of the electoral party switches have come among Democratic delegates.
Four Washington state delegates opted not to vote for Clinton, the state’s winner. Three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one for Faith Spotted Eagle, who had been fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
Two other electors – one in Minnesota and one in Maine – attempted to switch their votes from Clinton but were unsuccessful.
Minnesota elector Muhammad Abdurrahman, a delegate for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during the primary season, attempted to switch his vote but was replaced by an alternate. Maine elector David Bright attempted to vote for Sanders but was rebuffed and switched his vote to Clinton.
Earlier in the day, Bright said he would vote for Clinton if he thought she had a chance to win the White House but preferred to cast his ballot for Sanders “to let those new voters who were inspired by him know that some of us did hear them, did listen to them, do respect them and understand their disappointment.”
“I am not a Clinton elector, I am a Democratic elector. I do not represent Democrats all over the country, I represent the Democrats in Maine,” he added.
The two Texas electors were the only Republicans to buck the party’s pick.
A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House. Post-election numbers show Trump should end with 306 electoral votes compared to Clinton’s 232. Those numbers were prior to Bright’s defection.
Recent efforts have put pressure on electors to abandon Trump in favor of Clinton or a GOP replacement. That pressure grew as Clinton’s lead in the popular vote topped 2.6 million.
Here are the latest electoral college results from 270towin.com:
States with electors for Donald Trump
Alabama – 9
Arkansas – 6
Arizona – 11
Florida – 29
Georgia – 16
Idaho – 4
Indiana – 11
Kansas – 6
Kentucky – 8
Louisiana -8
Maine (split delegation) – 1
Michigan – 16
Mississippi – 6
Missouri – 10
Nebraska – 5
North Carolina – 15
North Dakota – 3
Ohio – 18
Oklahoma – 7
Pennsylvania – 20
South Carolina – 9
South Dakota – 3
Tennessee – 11
Texas – 36
Utah – 6
West Virginia – 5
Wisconsin – 10
Wyoming – 3
State with electors for Hillary Clinton
Connecticut – 7
Delaware – 3
Illinois – 20
Maine (split delegation) – 3
Maryland – 10
Minnesota – 10
New Hampshire – 4
New York – 29
Oregon – 7
Rhode Island – 4
Vermont – 3
Virginia – 13
Washington state – 8
Other
Washington state – 3 for Colin Powell, 1 for Faith Spotted Eagle
Texas – 1 for John Kasich, 1 for Ron Paul
Once all votes are complete, the results go to the president of the U.S. Senate (U.S. Vice President Joe Biden) and then will be read aloud during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. Trump’s inauguration is planned for Jan. 20, 2017.
You can see the remaining schedule for Electoral College voting here.
H/T www.al.com
Thanks Shari….There’s another vote going on as you probably know. Ammon is fixin to win the “Person of the year” poll in Oregon ! 34.44# of the vote so far. and Governor Brown ? not even within hailing distance.