WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Trump’s victory was made official Monday when he passed the threshold of 270 electoral votes and ended up with 304, two fewer than expected due to the defection of Republican Party electors in the state of Texas.
Three electors in Washington state who were slated to back Clinton cast votes instead for former US secretary of state Colin Powell. A fourth Washington state elector picked a Native American elder, Faith Spotted Eagle, over Clinton.
It would have taken a change in voting by 38 Electoral College members to reverse Trump’s victory on November 8, a scenario unprecedented in US political history. In the end, Clinton lost more ground than did her rival.
In Texas, elector Chris Suprun followed through on a promise to oppose Trump by voting for Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Bright explained his move as a show of support for young voters who became involved in politics for the first time because of Sanders’ populist message of economic and social justice.
The final tally was 304 electoral votes for Trump and 277 for Clinton.
A sixth Democratic elector, in the state of Minnesota, declined to cast a ballot Monday for his party’s nominee, but the attempted defection – to Sanders – by Muhammad Abdurrahman was ruled unlawful, and he was replaced by an alternate elector, who voted for Clinton.
