On December 19, seven presidential electors were allowed to cast votes for presidential candidates other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. They include two Republicans from Texas, four Democrats from Washington, and one Democrat from Hawaii. See this map.
In addition, attempts were made in Maine, Minnesota, and Colorado.
The other presidential candidates who got votes were: Bernie Sanders 1; Colin Powell 3; Ron Paul 1; John Kasich 1; Faith Spotted Eagle 1. Thanks to Andy Craig for that information.
2016 had the highest number of “disobedient” electors for president since 1808 (unless one considers the 1872 Democratic votes “disobedient”, but that was a special case because the Democratic presidential nominee had died after the November election but before the electors met). Also this is the first election with “disobedient” presidential votes from the ranks of two different parties. And it is the first election since 1796 in which more than six individuals received electoral votes for president. In 1796 thirteen individuals received electoral votes, but back then every elector had two votes and the intent was that most of the candidates who got votes were considered potential vice-presidents, not presidents.
For more, see How are Electors Chosen?
A lot of firsts & records broken today.
Faith Spotted Eagle is the first Native American to get a vote for President; she and La Duke are the first non-white women to receive electoral votes. This is also the first time more than one woman has received an electoral vote (all six of the faithless electors on the VP vote chose a female candidate).
3 out of the 7 people who got votes for President; and 1 of the 7 who got votes for Vice President; have been third-party candidates at some point in their career. That includes Donald Trump, who briefly sought the Reform Party nomination for President in 2000; Ron Paul, who was the 1988 Libertarian nominee for President; Bernie Sanders, who was the nominee of the Liberty Union Party for various offices before being elected as an independent; and Winona La Duke, who was Ralph Nader’s Green Party running mate in 1996 and 2000. La Duke is the first Green and Paul is the third Libertarian to get an electoral vote.
Sanders (and maybe Spotted Eagle) is the first independent to get a vote since 1968, if you count Wallace as a no-party independent. I’m not sure how far back you’d have to go for another one if you count Wallace as having had a party. Though Sanders’s status as a non-Democrat is also debatable.
More footnotes in the EVIL history of the E.C.
Like the footnotes connected with getting new EVIL rotted monarchs in Europe in the DARK AGE.
Will the brave 7 (and their relatives and friends) be purged their entire lives by the top gangster HACKS ???
Richard –
Could you post the final total electoral votes for Vice President, if you have it?
Media reports have been vague and incomplete, to say the least.