Florida’s 29 presidential electors will head to Tallahassee this week to cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump. Electors will descend upon the Florida Capitol to cast their votes in the Florida Senate gallery Monday afternoon.
They are elected legislators, party committeemen and women. Some are retired Marines. Many have never been electors. Most of them, however, are just average Republicans who have never held a public office but are involved in their local political parties.
All will gather to make last month’s historic election results official, sealing in Trump’s nomination to the White House.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton received 232 electoral college votes on Election Night to Trump’s 306. Presidential candidates need 270 votes to win.
Trump’s historic upset in last month’s election has thrown electors a serious curveball this year,
Pressure has mounted on electors all around the country to change their votes. Twenty-eight states do not require their electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote. Other states, like Florida, have a mandate requiring electors to cast their ballots for the candidate that won the election.
This year, presidential electors have faced significant criticisms and mounting pressure to change their votes. Thousands have protested the electoral college setup while many others have begged and pleaded with electors in a last-ditch effort to overturn the results of the election.
Across the nation, stories about electors possibly changing their votes and overturning the results of the election so Clinton would actually become president have spread like wildfire. Such a scenario is incredibly unlikely, but electors continue to receive intense comments, emails and letters all the while.
Dumping Trump is not a priority or even a genuine thought for Florida’s electors.
Elector Kat Gates-Skipper told Sunshine State News she was not prepared to back down from her support for the President-elect, despite all of the controversy.
“I’m proud to do my patriotic duty and whatever I can do for my country,” she said about being an elector and voting for Trump. “I’d be very honored to do this again, no questions asked.”
Other electors pooh-poohed the criticisms and laughed them off. RNC co-chair Sharon Day told the Associated Press she wasn’t planning on switching her vote any time soon.
“I really appreciate all the postcards that I’ve gotten. The front side of them were pretty,” she said. “I kind of find it amusing. What lemmings they are.”
Florida’s electors will meet at the Florida Senate to cast their votes. The process will be live streamed.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
