Just to be clear, by a repeat of the actual American Civil War, I’m talking about the aftermath. No actual killing. Just the South, including Florida and Texas, going their own way and having their beloved confederacy. They can have Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, and all the rest of the red welfare states too.
Perhaps you should look at a proper political map? Funny that the left is suddenly pro secession, pro states’ rights, pro proper federalism when an election doesn’t go their way. When will the melting end?
To be fair, we’ve just discovered that nearly half the country is kinda dippy.
If the goal of Civil War II : The Sequel is to expel The South, there wasn’t much point to Civil War I.
Richly ironic that Democrats are trying every dodge in the book to undo Trump’s win given their smug forecasts that Trump wouldn’t accept the election results.
Not that ironic when Trump is still arguing that the election was rigged against him and that he’s the real winner of the popular vote.
People are accepting the results. They are hoping the EC saves us from the manifest stupidity of the red states.
Very few people are saying the election was rigged. Which is what Trump is still saying.
FTR I’m deeply uncomfortable with the idea of the EC overturning the result even though I hate the result, but for the sake of argument:
Surely the ability of electors to be faithless is a separate issue from the popular vote result. I am unaware of any specific conditions set out under which the EC is directed to consider an electoral vote that differs from the expected outcome, so in theory if electors have the right to be faithless they have the right to be faithless for whatever reason they deem appropriate. Mull that over for a moment.
In practice, of course, having a popular vote result that differs from the electoral vote is a convenient and popularly justifiable rationale for becoming a faithless elector, but I’d be surprised if it had any legal weight in itself in these cases.
By “the book” do you mean “the Constitution of the United States”?
I fully accept the election results:
Clinton 48.2%
Trump 46.2%
Do you also accept 306 - 232 ?
Do I have a choice?
Trump claims that there was widespread voter fraud. He also claimed it was a rigged election. Perhaps there should be a nationwide auditing of our voting systems to ensure their integrity.
Sure, you could declare on the Straight Dope “I do not fully accept the election results”. It won’t change anything, but you can do it.
I was reading about that this morning. Here in Utah, faithless electors can be dismissed by the other electors and replaced by new electors who will fall in line.
That seems to make the whole electoral vote thing here kinda pointless. Why bother having electors?
Back to the OP,
Would the electors in question only have standing after they are fined?
Do electors have the constitutional right to vote for whoever they want, yes or no?
The answer is yes. There might be a state law that purports to punish them for voting the wrong way, but they can vote for whoever they like. This has been the law since 1787. If a majority of electors vote for Clinton, then Clinton is the president, regardless of the national popular vote or the popular vote in any state.
Now, why would an elector vote for a person who wasn’t chosen by the voters of their state? I don’t know, maybe because they think he’s an unstable petty narcissist with short fingers?
Of course this is a fantasy, because it’s not going to happen. But if it did–if the electors voted against Donald Trump on the grounds that he’s Donald Fucking Trump–then maybe we could finally abolish the goddam electoral college?
You conservatives crow all the time that the Electoral College was designed by Jesus to let Republicans become president even though they got fewer votes than their opponent. But when the electoral college doesn’t work in your favor you’re all ready to shell Fort Sumter. So which is it?
Obviously, repealing the Electoral College will require a constitutional amendment, and would only affect the 2020 election, not this one. In 2016 we’re stuck with whoever the electors vote for. That’s gonna be Donald Trump. Probably. If anything has been proved in 2016, it’s that conservatives are happy to vote for a syphilitic orangutan as long as he’s got an R after his name. So they’re gonna vote for Trump. But if on January 6 they find they can’t vote for Trump without throwing up, and somehow Clinton ends up with a majority of electoral votes, well, you’re the guys who love the electoral college. So suck it up and do better next time. Or repeal the electoral college next time.
I don’t recall ever saying this.
OK, so it wasn’t you.
It wasn’t me either, AFAIK.
When has it ever not worked in my favor? I’m a nominal Republican, and live in a small state that gets over-represented in the Electoral College. I think it’s working quite well in my favor.
I believe the Electoral College votes in December, not January, but ok. I’ll accept whoever the Electoral College votes in for President.
Since I was in favor of allowing states to secede back during Obama’s first term, when Texas in particular was talking secession, I’m not ‘suddenly’ anything on this issue.
I still think it’s a good idea.
What, ending slavery ‘wasn’t much point’?
I beg to differ.