'Faithless' Electors Push Non-Trump GOP Candidate

They need to convince 37 Republican Electoral College members to join them
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 2, 2016 6:15 PM CST
'Faithless' Electors Speaking Up, Reaching Out to Stop Trump
Electoral college members cast votes in 1940.   (AP Photo)

The small group of Electoral College members attempting an "unlikely, last-ditch effort" to stop a Trump presidency by convincing their peers to vote for a compromise Republican candidate—called "Hamilton Electors"—have now formed a nonprofit for that purpose, the Denver Post reports. So far all seven Hamilton Electors—three from Washington state and four in Colorado—are Democrats in states won by Clinton and should therefore be casting their votes for her, according to the Guardian. But they're willing to vote for an as-yet-undecided Republican candidate to stop Trump. “I’m only 19 and this is my first time being involved in politics, but I hope that my willingness to put my country before my party will show that my generation cares about all Americans,” Washington state Hamilton Elector Levi Guerra says.

The Hamilton Electors say they have one anonymous Republican elector on board so far and are talking to four others that are interested. They're willing to consider using their electoral votes on Mitt Romney, Colin Powell, Jon Huntsman, or John Kasich, the Seattle Times reports. The Hamilton Electors say they are attempting to use the Electoral College as Alexander Hamilton intended, by acting "as a Constitutional fail-safe against those lacking the qualifications from becoming president.” They have to convince at least 37 electors in Trump-won states to not vote for the president-elect, which would put the choice for president in the hands of the House of Representatives. It's unlikely the House would chose someone other than Trump. (More electoral college stories.)

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