Republican slates of electors in a number of key swing states went through the motions of pretending their endorsement of President Donald Trump will matter, even though President-elect Joe Biden won their states and the official electors all voted for him on Monday.
In many of the battleground states that the Trump campaign has fruitlessly raised legal challenges about widespread election fraud, which lacks any evidence whatsoever, state Republican officials have convened to cast their “vote” for the Electoral College. In Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, Republican convened outside their respective state capitols in a kind of phony, protest display of solidarity with Trump, who has likewise refused to accept the reality that he lost the 2020 election.
Several of these GOP slates even pushed the delusional theory that they would be sending their “dueling” electors to Washington, D.C., where Congress would certify their votes for Trump (instead of Biden’s official slates) on January 6, but that is totally false. The Constitution has no provision for weighing an alternative set of electors. Biden officially won all the swing states protesting as well as the Electoral College on Monday evening, 306 – 232.
In Michigan, where the state capitol was locked down due to threats of violence from angry Trump supporters, this theater of the absurd reached its peak on Monday afternoon. That’s when the GOP electors showed up at the capitol door seeking to enter and, thus, “vote” for Trump, but were turned away by the Michigan state police.
The Washington correspond for the Detroit News, Riley Beggin, captured the moment and posted the video online.
They said that they were the Republican electors there to cast their vote for president. State police declined to let them enter the building or leave votes offered in a manila envelope pic.twitter.com/rNVIwc5ZXC
— Riley Beggin (@rbeggin) December 14, 2020
In Nevada, the six Republican electors met outside for the exercise in Electoral College cosplay.
Watch LIVE: Nevada GOP Makes Major Announcement on 2020 Election Developing… https://t.co/wz9MkNAC2j
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) December 14, 2020
Their playacting quickly went viral thanks to actor, Antonio Sabato Jr., tweeting out the moment with an authoritative “BREAKING” leader, even though their votes did not officially count in any way.
BREAKING: Nevada GOP electors cast ballot for Donald J Trump declaring him winner of 6 Electoral votes in NV.
— Antonio Sabáto Jr 🇺🇸 (@AntonioSabatoJr) December 14, 2020
Similarly, Georgia Republicans held their own fantasy Electoral College votes.
#Breaking Georgia Republicans are meeting at the Cap to select their own slate of Trump electors to send to Washington even as Georgia Democrats are meeting to send the official slate of Biden electors to Congress. pic.twitter.com/TJZGjcJS57
— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) December 14, 2020
As did the 11 GOP electors in Arizona.
The Signing. pic.twitter.com/6gPsfqrk7T
— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) December 14, 2020
Pennsylvania Republicans joined in on the Kabuki theater too.
BREAKING: REPUBLICAN ELECTORS CAST PROCEDURAL VOTE , SEEK TO PRESERVE TRUMP CAMPAIGN LEGAL CHALLENGE pic.twitter.com/XVWuR5WzvN
— PA GOP (@PAGOP) December 14, 2020
All these anti-democratic acts of sore loserdom got a sympathetic shot in the arm from the official Texas slate of electors that overwhelmingly — but not unanimously — registered a meaningless “vote” in support of the dueling electors gambit.
New: Texas electors vote 34-4 to call on Legislatures in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin — whose election results handed the White House @JoeBiden — to appoint their own electors.
— Alexandra Samuels (@AlexSamuelsx5) December 14, 2020
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, treating the resolution with as much seriousness as it merited, fired back at the idea on Twitter with two replies heavy on the sarcasm — and NFL trash talk.
We’ll get right on that
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) December 14, 2020
Moreover, they must acknowledge how much the Cowboys blow
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) December 14, 2020
Just another in the final few days in President Trump’s America.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
