WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. Electoral College on Monday is expected to officially select Donald Trump as the next president of the United States amid allegations of Russian interference and speculation over “faithless electors.”
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Trump won 306 electors from 30 states. In order to win the U.S. presidency, a candidate must secure 270 votes out of an available 538.
Electors in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., will meet, usually in the capitals, to cast their ballots. Under federal law, electors must gather on Dec. 19 but there is no penalty for missing the deadline.
Each elector must sign six copies that certify their votes on a ballot for president and vice president. Two ballots are taken to the National Archives, one is taken to the president of the Senate, two go to the states’ chief elections officer and one goes to a local judge.
The president of the Senate is Vice President Joe Biden, who will oversee Congress’ electoral vote count on Jan. 6. If no issues arise from voting and a candidate reaches the 270 vote mark, Biden will announce the winner. He will then ask if there are any objections.
So-called “faithless electors” may vote against their states’ results. Under some state laws, those electors could be fined, disqualified or replaced. Christopher Suprun, a Republican elector from Texas, said he will not cast his ballot for Trump because the president-elect “shows daily he is not qualified for the office.”
“The election of the next president is not yet a done deal. Electors of conscience can still do the right thing for the good of the country,” Suprun wrote in a op-ed for The New York Times.
The electoral college vote also comes after the CIA concluded Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential race to help elect Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., last week said an intelligence panel will investigate Russia’s alleged interference.
“The Russians are not our friends,” McConnell said during a press conference.
The presidential inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 20.
