Texas Republican elector says he won’t cast ballot for Trump

December 09 23:00 2016

Parks actively campaigned for Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond and said in advance of the election that he would not vote for Truman under any circumstances, instead voting for Thurmond.

Kasich, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for president, told The Associated Press Tuesday that he is not a candidate for president, the election was held and Trump was the victor.

A number of Democratic electors, dubbing themselves the ‘Hamilton Electors, ‘ have been working to lobby Republicans to vote for an alternative on December 19, with John Kasich’s name being suggested. Despite it being nearly impossible for a third-party candidate to win the presidency, the Electoral College system makes it quite possible for a third-party candidate to capture a small state or two that could possibly alter the outcome of the entire election.

Either strategy is a fool’s errand.

The campaign and Republican party spent about $5m in get-out-the-vote digital advertising targeted in the final few days to Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Constitutional law experts say it is not clear that the Constitution would prohibit an elector from refusing to vote for the candidate he or she was pledged to.

Texas is the biggest source of electoral votes for Donald Trump, but a second elector from the state announced he will not vote for the Republican nominee.

MI law mandates electors vote according to the results of the state’s presidential election.

In this election, the people did not go insane.

For his part, Fairbrother said he voted for another candidate in the primary election whom he declined to identify, but switched his support to Trump in the general election. Yet that is not the question the electors must weigh as they decide how to cast their ballots. Most states award the electoral votes on a “Winner Takes All” basis.

If Democrats believe Trump poses a unique threat to the republic, and signal this is not okay by reaching across the aisle to marginalize and stop him, then win or lose, Democrats could legitimately claim they put partisanship aside for the good of the country.

Some people who voted against Trump have praised Suprun’s decision (while, of course, many Trump supporters have denounced it).

The Republican elector also cited Trump for showing favoritism by way of his cabinet appointments and explained that Trump is not showing support for hard-working Americans.

Michael F. Cannon is a resident scholar at the Cato Institute.

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Texas Republican elector says he won’t cast ballot for Trump
 
 
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