Today's the day: Electors to put an end to 2016

Will they or won’t they? Only their hairdressers know for sure*. Electors will meet in their state capitols today to formalize the election of the president and vice-president, and CBS News has the schedule — and the hour of Donald Trump’s celebration, if all goes to plan for the Election Night winner:

Advertisement

Barring a major number of these so-called “faithless electors” — those electors who do not vote in accordance with the outcome of their states — Donald Trump is expected to hit the electoral majority of 270 electoral votes some time in the 3 p.m. ET hour Monday.

Throughout the day Monday — the timing of the Electoral College meeting varies by state — electors will cast their votes, which will be sent on to the nation’s capital by late December.

Then, on the afternoon of Jan. 6, Vice President Joe Biden will open the electoral votes before a joint session of the new Congress, where they will be counted.

On the surface, it sounds like a rather dull process. This election makes everything interesting, however, and the Electoral College has suddenly gained the attention of people who want to overturn the election’s result. So far, though, they’ve only gotten one taker. CBS features “faithless elector” Chris Suprun of Texas in this clip, but later acknowledges the futility of the exercise:

Should we expect any surprises? I’d bet that the number of Trump electors who go rogue will be five or less. News agencies have been crawling all over his electors for a couple of weeks, and so far the only one to emerge has been Suprun. It seems exceedingly unlikely that Republican party loyalists and officials — the type of people who normally comprise elector slates for any party — would find themselves persuaded by progressive Hollywood has-beens, leftist agitators on the streets, and the mainstream media to lose the election. If those were the kind of influences that worked on these electors, they’d already be Democrats.

Advertisement

So here’s my none-too-serious prediction for the final Electoral College results: Trump 301, Hillary Clinton 208, John Kasich 22, Mike Pence 7, and a Jill Stein recount demand. You can keep track with the schedule below. Note that a handful of states plan to conduct a live stream of the process for some reason. If you want to watch people sign government forms in sextuplicate, have at it, and here’s a little music to watch it by.

Electoral College Voting Schedule by CBS News Politics on Scribd

Note *: If you’re old enough to get that reference, be sure to tell some kid today to get off your damn lawn.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement