# Count down to December 19th ... Electorial College voting day **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359 "2016-11-10T14:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/81 "2016-11-29T17:47:11Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > In theory they could, but of course they won’t also abstain … > > Did you know that the state of Texas just happens to have the 38 EC votes all in one state? > > So in theory and for only $38 million dollars they (you know who they are, right) could purchase an entire election if they wanted to. Uuhhh, what? You think it’s reasonable to hope the rest of the Texas electors aren’t going to just choose someone reliable as a replacement and vote as expected? Not to mention, I was specifically answering your comment “I’m not so sure if he can be replaced”. So you don’t know how it actually works and I’m supposed to take your bribe conspiracy theory seriously? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/82 "2016-11-29T17:52:57Z")
Mr Quatro, I too am confused by your post. What does $38 million have to do with anything? Are you saying you could bribe all 38 Texas electors to vote for HRC with just $1 million each (and somehow avoid prison)? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/83 "2016-11-29T19:11:39Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Mr Quatro, I too am confused by your post. What does $38 million have to do with anything? Are you saying you could bribe all 38 Texas electors to vote for HRC with just $1 million each (and somehow avoid prison)? Sorry, no more jokes … Yes, he can be replaced for bowing out of his vow to vote for the people’s choice in his state. I just thought it was odd that the EC in Texas was 38. Be sober the Lord told me … for whatever is going to happen has never happened before. I keep wanting Trump to be the person that he could be, not for me, but for my country. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/84 "2016-11-30T14:53:53Z")
Good news and bad news for the losing side: [MSN](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-rejects-steins-request-for-hand-recount/ar-AAkVJnV?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp) > [@](#): > > Under Wisconsin law, the Stein camp will get a refund if the recount costs less than expected and will have to pay more if it costs more. But that money might be difficult to raise once the recount is done. > > Stein, who drew more votes in Wisconsin than Clinton’s losing margin in this state to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, criticized the cost of the recall Tuesday but paid it, ensuring the statewide recount would begin on Thursday. What if the independent runner, in this case Stein, didn’t run would the democrat’s receive most of those votes? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/85 "2016-11-30T17:20:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Why are people still talking about 19 Trump electors defecting to HRC? If that happens, Trump still wins the electoral college vote 287-251. HRC needs 38 Trump electors to defect to her, not 19. Huh. Y’know, if this breaks _juuuust_ right, then the woman who worked really hard and even wound up winning the popular vote will get – 77% of what the man got. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/86 "2016-11-30T21:58:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Texas Republican elector resigns over Donald Trump](https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/28/texas-republican-elector-resigns-over-trump/) > > The elector, Art Sisneros of Dayton, detailed his decision in a blog post Saturday that said he believed voting for Trump “would bring dishonor to God.” On Dec. 19, when the remaining 537 members of the Electoral College are scheduled to meet in state capitols across the country, the Texas delegation will choose Sisneros’ replacement in Austin. > > “I do not see how Donald Trump is biblically qualified to serve in the office of the presidency,” wrote Sisneros, who represents Texas’ 36th congressional district. “Since I can’t in good conscience vote for Donald Trump, and yet have sinfully made a pledge that I would, the best option I see at this time is to resign my position as an elector.” His reasons are very disturbing. He’s basically saying that Donald Trump isn’t crazy _enough._ ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/87 "2016-12-01T21:50:36Z")
Has this ever happened before? We are seeing history in the making: [http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/electoral-college-voter-gets-death-threats/ar-AAkYFWN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/electoral-college-voter-gets-death-threats/ar-AAkYFWN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp) > [@](#): > > Michael Banerian, a college student in Michigan and the youth vice chairman of the Michigan Republican party, is one of the state’s 16 electors who will cast a vote for president-elect Donald Trump. > > But since people figured out he is one of the electoral voters, he said he has received death threats. > > “Obviously, this election cycle was pretty divisive. Unfortunately it’s bled over into the weeks following the election and I have been inundated with death threats, death wishes, generally angry messages trying to get me to change my vote to Hillary Clinton or another person, and unfortunately, it’s gotten a little out of control,” Banerian said. > > “I’ve had people talk about putting a bullet in the back of my mouth. I’ve had death wishes or people just saying ‘I hope you die.’ Or, ‘Do society a favor, throw yourself in front of a bus,’” he said. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/88 "2016-12-01T22:21:17Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Huh. Y’know, if this breaks _juuuust_ right, then the woman who worked really hard and even wound up winning the popular vote will get – 77% of what the man got. Almost a fundamental constant. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/89 "2016-12-01T22:22:35Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Has this ever happened before? We are seeing history in the making: > > [MSN](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/electoral-college-voter-gets-death-threats/ar-AAkYFWN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp) All that political violence the left predicted is coming true! Which was a safe prediction since they are the agents of it. ---
**Author:** ![OriginalGangster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea5d25/32.png) [@OriginalGangster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OriginalGangster)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/90 "2016-12-02T02:32:30Z")
Let the usurping begin. #vaudeville2016 ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/91 "2016-12-04T18:12:43Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > No. Not at all better. Ryan, possibly, but as bad as Trump _may_ be, Cruz is a proven worse thing than Trump. This is the problem with the sky is falling left. Everyone who disagrees with you is intolerable. It gets old listening to this doomsday talk. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/92 "2016-12-04T19:40:01Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > This is the problem with the sky is falling left. Everyone who disagrees with you is intolerable. It gets old listening to this doomsday talk. Yip. That’s why he says Ryan might be okay. When even what you quote contradicts your attack, you might not want to make it. And, of course, doing the very thing you condemn us for isn’t very productive. Everyone who disagrees with you is “sky is falling left.” ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/93 "2016-12-04T20:32:06Z")
We’ve all seen a lot of comments from right-wingers to the effect that people on the left should just stop talking about this. It’s unsurprising given that many on the right tend to score ‘high in authoritarianism’ on psychological tests. People of this kind are made genuinely uncomfortable by failure to simply submit (silently, presumably) to “authority.” Apparently they are willing to abandon all logic and consistency in their quest to make the discomfort _stop_ (by shutting up any who would question or dissent). A good overview of relevant research: [Right-wing authoritarian personality - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_authoritarianism) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/94 "2016-12-05T18:33:18Z")
How long has it been now, a month since the election? Only (14) days till the EC meets and the air goes out of the hope balloon for Hillary or will it? Just found this interesting in that the Stein recount is not about changing the election, but it is about the integrity of voting system itself: [MSN](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/green-party-gets-one-us-election-recount-seeks-another/ar-AAl91Xq?ocid=iehp) > [@](#): > > Even if all three recounts move forward, they are extremely unlikely to change the outcome of the Nov. 8 presidential election in which the three historically Democratic states helped to seal a victory for Trump, a Republican. > > On Sunday, Trump proclaimed Stein’s effort a failure and questioned her motives, saying on Twitter: “Just a Stein scam to raise money!” > > At a news conference on Monday across the street from Trump Tower in Manhattan, Stein said every dollar she raises for the recount is going to a dedicated account for that purpose. She has raised $7.2 million, according to her website. > > “We urge Donald Trump to look at the facts, not to make up the facts,” Stein said. > > Stein said her recount push in the three “Rust Belt” states was not meant to change the election’s result, but that she and others have concerns about the integrity of voting systems in the three states. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/95 "2016-12-05T18:57:41Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Only (14) days till the EC meets and the air goes out of the hope balloon for Hillary or will it? Why there is any air left in the “hope balloon for Hillary” at all is a mystery to me. It’s almost cruel watching Jill Stein string desperate Democrats\* along with this false hope. - Not all Democrats are delusional enough to think Stein will get the election results overturned. Most aren’t (and AFAIK, none of the Dopers on this board), but there are [some](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/3/1607039/-Jill-Stein-Changes-Strategy-In-PA-Recount-It-s-NOT-Over) [out there](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/02/1606296/-Donald-Trump-is-in-hot-water-now) still hoping against all logic and reason. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/96 "2016-12-06T01:45:19Z")
But here’s more hope, Dems: [**YA GOT ONE!!!**](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/opinion/why-i-will-not-cast-my-electoral-vote-for-donald-trump.html) > [@](#): > > I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. > > … > > Presidential electors have the legal right and a constitutional duty to vote their conscience. I believe electors should unify behind a Republican alternative, an honorable and qualified man or woman such as Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/97 "2016-12-06T02:32:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yip. That’s why he says Ryan might be okay. > > When even what you quote contradicts your attack, you might not want to make it. > > And, of course, doing the very thing you condemn us for isn’t very productive. Everyone who disagrees with you is “sky is falling left.” Ah the old complaining about complainers line! You do realize that there are differences in degree of criticism? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/98 "2016-12-06T02:46:14Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > But here’s more hope, Dems: > > [**YA GOT ONE!!!**](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/opinion/why-i-will-not-cast-my-electoral-vote-for-donald-trump.html) 36 to go ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/99 "2016-12-06T17:58:45Z")
This is becoming more and more disturbing … the anger part I mean, not the voting:[MSN](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/texas-republican-elector-says-he-wont-cast-ballot-for-trump/ar-AAlaYBO?ocid=U450DHP) Texas Republican elector says he won’t cast ballot for Trump > [@](#): > > “I’m expecting backlash, but that has been par for the course this campaign. People are unhappy. They’re angry. But I’m angry, too,” said Suprun, who said that prior to changing his mind he had received hundreds of emails, letters and phone calls urging him not to support Trump. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359/100 "2016-12-06T18:17:32Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Hillary Clintons first speech after losing the election was in effect “Hang in there” “Never give up” I think she is secretly hoping this reversal will happen. Not a chance. She’s far too astute a politican to think that she could enter the White House without the country descending into the worst violence it has seen since the Civil War. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-down-to-december-19th-electorial-college-voting-day/771359.md?page=6)