Could the Electoral College Actually Do Its Job?

Asking the Right Questions but Little Impetus to Act

The number of electors increased Wednesday afternoon to 55, 54 Democrats and one Republican, who are demanding that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper release all pertinent details regarding any potential investigations into Donald Trump’s relationship with the Russian government. They are joining a growing chorus of persons alarmed by the appearance of impropriety by Donald Trump and Russian influence over the election. 

This chorus includes Robert Reich, who told reporters over the weekend that a “dark cloud of illegitimacy” hangs over the pending presidency of Donald Trump. Reich, a former Clinton administration Secretary of Labor, says that the only remedy is for the president-elect to release his tax returns and for the CIA to release its findings about alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election to help Trump win. Reich argues that before the Electoral College submits its ballots for president next week, “Trump must release his tax returns and the CIA must make public its report on Russia’s intervention in the U.S. elections in support of Trump.”  

As the debate rages in the media and on social media, not all electors will shift their vote and abandon their commitment to voting for Trump. Brian Ballard, a Florida elector told NCRM he has been inundated with persons trying to get him to change his vote. He said that he won’t as he felt he was obligated to the “people of Florida” to uphold their will. He also noted that he “loved  Trump” and really did want him to be president. Ballard added that he didn’t put too much stock in the CIA assessment of Russian interference in the election process.

As the 538 delegates in the Electoral College gather at in statehouses across the nation this coming Monday to make Trump’s victory over Clinton official, political experts tell NCRM that it’s fairly unlikely electors will defect in significant numbers. The final tally of votes isn’t expected to deviate much from the election results where Trump had won 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232.

But not all experts agree with that assessment, including Harvard University law professor and former presidential candidate Larry Lessig. Speaking with Politico, Lessig said 20 Republican Electoral College voters are considering changing their votes and casting ballots voting against Donald Trump. 37 electors slated to vote for Trump are needed to throw the election into the House of Representatives.

“Obviously, whether an elector ultimately votes his or her conscience will depend in part upon whether there are enough doing the same. We now believe there are more than half the number needed to change the result seriously considering making that vote,” Lessig said. 

The Founding Fathers of the American republic were gravely concerned about the possibility of a demagogue rising to power backed by a foreign adversary. The Electoral College, one founder – thought to be Alexander Hamilton – argued in The Federalist Paper No. 68, was a means by which that scenario could be prevented.

He also wrote that electors had a constitutional duty to make sure “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.”

However, as the American nation’s experiment in democracy solidified and its strength and influence as a world power grew over the next two centuries, Hamilton’s warning and words seemed to fade to the point of being thought of as no more than a quaint anachronism. Before the election cycle of 2016, there were only four elections – 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000, where the Electoral College had not elected the candidate who received the most popular votes nationwide.

Speaking with several Republican electors, NCRM learned that for the most part, none felt that circumstances with Trump and the calls that the Russian hacking were influencing the election’s outcome along with the conflicts swirling around him regarding his business interests and the potential for conflict of interest were enough to change their vote.

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Then too, the view of the Russian interference may be cast in a new light according to a YouGov/Economist poll released Wednesday. One elector who declined to be named told NCRM it is possible that the danger of Russian influence is being overstated. The polling results revealed that just under 21 percent of all Americans see Russia as an ally or friendly, while 58 percent see Moscow as an enemy or unfriendly. In a further inquiry, pollsters found that 54 percent think Trump sees Russia as a friend.

Among Trump supporters and voters, which presumably would include Electors committed to voting for him, there’s also a partisan divide over views of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 51 percent view the Russian president unfavorably, with 35 percent viewing him favorably. Democrats who supported Hillary Clinton poll at an 80 percent unfavorable rating and an 8 percent favorable rating for Putin.

Brody Levesque is the Chief Political Correspondent for The New Civil Rights Movement.
You may contact Brody at Brody.Levesque@thenewcivilrightsmovement.com 

 

Image by Beverly via Flickr and a CC license

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