Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/765357
CHARLIENEIBERGALL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, center, collects ballots from Iowa electors Alan Braun, of Norwalk, Iowa, le , and Don Kass, of Remsen, Iowa, right, during Iowa's Electoral College vote on Monday at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. ByStephenOhlemacher The Associated Press WASHINGTON There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Don- ald Trump won the Elec- toral College vote Monday — ensuring he will become America's 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Repub- lican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump's polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Dem- ocrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail. "We did it!" Trump tweeted Monday evening. "Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just of- ficially won the election (de- spite all of the distorted and inaccurate media)." He later issued a state- ment saying: "With this his- toric step we can look for- ward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the President of all Amer- icans." Even one of Trump's fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect. "We want unity, we want love," Kasich said as Ohio's electors voted to back Trump at a statehouse cer- emony. Kasich refused to endorse or even vote for Trump in the election. With all states voting, Trump finished with 304 votes and Clinton had 227. It takes 270 Electoral Col- lege votes to win the pres- idency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors cast- ing protest votes. Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thou- sands of protesters con- verged on state capitols across the country Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party's winning candidate. More than 200 demon- strators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylva- nia's capitol, chanting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!" and "No treason, no Trump!" In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters shouted, cried and sang "Silent Night." In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said, "Don't let Putin Pick Our President," referring to Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin. Despite the noise outside state Capitols, inside, the voting went pretty much as planned. In Nashville, Tennessee, one audience member tried to read out some Scripture before the ballots were cast, but was told he could not speak. "We certainly appreci- ate the Scripture," State Election Coordinator Mark Goins said from the po- dium. "The answer is no." With all Republican states reporting, Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Ka- sich, the Ohio governor; the other voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Clinton lost four elec- tors in Washington state — three voted for former Sec- retary of State Colin Pow- ell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. She also lost an elector in Ha- waii to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton beat Sand- ers in the Democratic pri- maries. Several Democratic elec- tors in other states tried to vote for protest candidates but they either changed their votes to Clinton or were replaced. The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, de- spite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress. Trump cruises to Electoral College victory despite protests PRESIDENCY PAUL SANCYA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE President-elect Donald Trump waves to supporters during a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich. MATT ROURKE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Protesters demonstrate ahead of Pennsylvania's 58th Electoral College at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., on Monday. By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California's 55 Electoral College mem- bers cast their votes in fa- vor of Democrat Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, on Mon- day as expected in a largely ceremonial proceeding that marked the end of the presi- dential election season. The members, all se- lected by California Dem- ocratic officeholders or Democratic candidates for office, met at the state Cap- itol, where the occasion was marked by dozens of news photographers and hun- dreds of protesters outside the Capitol holding signs saying "Not My President," "Dump Trump" and "Elec- toral College: Save U.S." California's electors are pledged to vote for the win- ner of the state's popular vote, Hillary Clinton, who won about 62 percent in No- vember. Still, they were not required to state their selec- tion out loud, instead plac- ing their candidate mark- ings on individual ballots that were collected and re- turned to a podium where the overall count was read aloud. Many snapped selfies of their ballots before handing them over. Clinton also won the na- tional popular vote in the Nov. 8 election, but Republi- can Donald Trump won the formal electoral vote Mon- day to certify him as the nation's 45th president. For some the day was tinged with sadness as they had anticipated casting their vote for the first female president. Hilary Crosby, a substi- tute elector and controller of the state Democratic Party, said she was feeling down about it until chatting with a younger female elector on the way in on Monday. "She said 'It's another chance to vote for the first woman for president of the United States,' and I carried that," Crosby said. "I got to castanelectoralcollegevote, the first one that's ever been cast, for a woman to be pres- ident of the United States, and that is pretty exciting." One elector, Monterey County Democratic Party Chairman Vinz Koller, sought to test the elector law in a federal court last week, but he lost his bid for a temporary injunction that would have allowed him to vote for a compromise Re- publican such as Mitt Rom- ney or John Kasich. Koller, a Clinton sup- porter, said he intended to continue pursuing his legal challenge, but he had de- cided to cast his ballot for Clinton, though she would not become president. "I'm also hoping it will move people to take an- other look at the Electoral College and maybe wonder if this is such a great idea," he said. "The gap between the popular vote and the Electoral College vote has never been greater." ELECTION Clinton nabs California's electoral votes | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016 4 B