HONOLULU — Hawaii’s four Electoral College electors were required by law to vote for Hillary Clinton because she won the general election in the state, but one so-called “faithless elector” voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders instead.
HONOLULU — Hawaii’s four Electoral College electors were required by law to vote for Hillary Clinton because she won the general election in the state, but one so-called “faithless elector” voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders instead.
David Mulinix, 66, voted for Sanders because he doesn’t feel Clinton is qualified to be president, he said Monday after casting his vote at the state Capitol. If his vote would have made the difference between a Donald Trump and a Clinton presidency, he would have chosen Clinton, the self-described community organizer said.
“Our country is in crisis, and I think we need to wake up, and we need to start a dialogue,” Mulinix said. “The primaries were not fair. The election was not fair.”
During Hawaii’s presidential caucus, Sanders easily defeated Clinton, even though many leaders in the state’s Democratic Party establishment backed her. Clinton then won the general election in Hawaii, and she won the nationwide popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.
But President-elect Trump won more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed, and by the time Hawaii electors voted Monday, Trump had already secured victory.
Hawaii law doesn’t penalize electors for going against the statewide vote, and the Sanders vote will count, Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago said.
The other three electors — John Bickel, Marie “Dolly” Strazar and Janice Bond — voted for Clinton. Bond, who said she ran Sanders’ campaign on Kauai, said she wasn’t sure how she was going to vote this morning, but thought if she voted for Sanders her vote would be disqualified.
“I really feel he is the best candidate,” Bond said after casting her ballot for Clinton.
The voting followed a peaceful rally outside the Capitol, where dozens protested the Electoral College process and President-elect Donald Trump, holding signs that read “Defend Democracy” and “Dump Trump.”
Several were calling for an end to the Electoral College, and some had hoped electors would choose not to seat Trump. But the Associated Press interviewed electors nationwide and found little appetite for a revolt.
“I think Trump is totally unacceptable, and this is one of our last chances to stop him,” said Emma Gerrish, 27, a student at University of Hawaii at Hilo, one of the protest organizers. “No matter what the odds are, we have to try … Even if we don’t stop him, we need to show him and our government we didn’t select Trump.”