Looming Unfaithful Elector in Washington?

A reminder that the people don’t directly elect the president in the US via the Seattle Times:  1 Washington state Democratic elector won’t support Clinton, another won’t commit

One of Washington state’s Democratic presidential electors is vowing not to cast his Electoral College vote for Hillary Clinton — even if she wins the state handily on Election Day. Another elector says he is considering withholding his vote.

“No, no, no on Hillary. Absolutely not. No way,” said Robert Satiacum, a member of Washington’s Puyallup Tribe who had supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as the Democratic presidential nominee.

[…]

Bret Chiafalo, a Democratic elector from Everett who is also a Sanders supporter, said he is considering exercising his right to be a “conscientious elector” and vote for the person he believes would be the best president.

“I have no specific plans, but I have not ruled out that possibility,” he said.

Satiacum is more adamant.

[…]

Satiacum, 56, was picked as one of 12 Democratic electors at Washington’s Democratic Party convention this year in Tacoma — a gathering dominated by supporters of Sanders, who won the state’s caucuses in March.

So, just a little more potential drama for 2016.

FILED UNDER: 2016 Election, US Politics, , , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. KM says:

    Bret Chiafalo, a Democratic elector from Everett who is also a Sanders supporter, said he is considering exercising his right to be a “conscientious elector” and vote for the person he believes would be the best president.

    Nice weasel words but the truth is if he thought that person was Hillary, this wouldn’t be an issue. Chiaflo is actively trying to not admit it aloud because he knows how it sounds.

    Shades of Kim Davis: He can be a “conscientious objector” the same way it works elsewhere in the world: don’t participate. He knew for months what his choices and his duty were going to be. If they weren’t palatable, then he should have stepped down and allowed another to serve the will of the people. You don’t get to play wishy-washy the goddamn day before the election.

  2. Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y says:

    I was born here, lived here my entire life and Washington’s a Bernie state. We haven’t forgotten how Hillary and the D.N.C. stole the nomination. These electors are being faithful to the fair nomination process that was stolen from us. Even though the Hillary media lackey writing this article is twisting the truth I’ve never been prouder of my state.

  3. John Peabody says:

    Not one voter in 100 knows that we don’t have a direct vote. This will lead to cries of “rigged!” from the grossly un-informed.

  4. Franklin says:

    If all the electors were conscientious, Trump wouldn’t get a single vote. But regardless of how it works, that’s not how I think it should work. Just do your duty and listen to the will of the people.

  5. MarkedMan says:

    @Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y: “Stolen” in the sense that Clinton won the popular primary vote by millions, as well as the the delegate vote and the super delegate. If they couldn’t represent the party, they shouldn’t have run as electors. They are free not to vote for her at the personal level, but the job of the elector is to vote for the party’s candidate on the first ballot.

  6. Mister Bluster says:

    @Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y:.. the Hillary media lackey writing this article…

    Ha. You sure are dumb. Grow up!

  7. DrDaveT says:

    @Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y:

    We haven’t forgotten how Hillary and the D.N.C. stole the nomination.

    Presumably you also haven’t forgotten that 3 + 4 = 9?

    Even though the Hillary media lackey writing this article […]

    OK, I have to thank you for that — I haven’t laughed that hard in months. Even better than The Colbert Report.

  8. al-Ameda says:

    @Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y:

    We haven’t forgotten how Hillary and the D.N.C. stole the nomination.

    You sound like a typical FoxNews viewer, unable to accept objective reality and facts.

    I am a Democrat, I live in an area in Northern California where most of my neighbors are strong Sanders supporters, and they too are insisting on the appealing fiction that – despite vote counts in many states, including California – Bernie was denied victories because of Hillary. Never mind that Hillary was the recipient of far more primary votes than Bernie.

  9. Just 'nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    Robert Satiacum. Why am I just not surprised at all? Don’t know the other guy, but the Satiacum family is a fixture in Pierce County politics and has been a source of entertainment for years.

  10. Monala says:

    @Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y: When the non-binding primary was held in May, 3 times as many participated as in the caucuses (which are hard to participate in if you have to work, have young kids, or health issues), and Clinton handily beat Bernie in that vote. In other words, Clinton actually has more support in Washington State that Sanders did.

  11. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Crooked HIL-LIAR-Y: Head? Meet Desk. Why don’t you just make a sign that say’s “I am a complete and utter innumerate moron.” Then every time you feel like saying something you can just look at it and say, “Never mind.” It will save a lot of time.

  12. Tena Markham says:

    Getting of crybabies….MOVE ON…..They destroy America by setting fire…damage things….bad mouths….etc so Donald Trump did not damage things like rioters….SMH…anyway their names are on Lambs Book of Life….Shameful….