Electors can just as easily not vote at all and prevent Trump

[Tiggeroshii]

If 38 electors don't vote for him, the vote goes to congress. This can just as easily happen if they vote for nobody, or abstain.

[Johnathan146]

1. How does that prevent trump?

I don't think congress is going to choose Hillary?

And why would they? These electors are lifelong republicans, many of which would end their political career if they don't vote for trump.

[still_one]

3. That is correct. If 270 votes isn't acheived, then it goes to the house

[kudzu22]

23. If there are abstentions then the threshhold is lower

They only need a majority of the electoral votes cast -- 270 if all 538 vote. If only 500 vote then they only need 251.

[still_one]

25. I don't believe that is accurate. Abstentions do take away from the total electoral votes of 538

and 270 would still be the threshold. Since the republicans control the house, and the house chooses from the top three candidates who received the most electoral votes, trump would be chosen.

However, if enough republican electors choose an entirely different candidate so the top three candidates would be Hillary, trump, and this different candidate, no single candidate would get 270, and it would go to the house, where the house could theoretically choose that different candidate.

The odds that any of this would actually happen is extremely remote.

The odds that any of the republican electors would change their vote to Hillary are even more remote

[kudzu22]

32. You may be right

it's the majority of appointed electors. I was thinking of the case when a state's entire delegation is rejected - that lowers the threshhold.

[still_one]

35. The electoral college is such a sham. The best we can hope for is that enough republican candidates

choose a less insane republican which forces the election to the house, and this less insane republican candidates gets chosen by the house.

I think the probability is almost NIL that enough of these republican electors will choose Hillary, or any Democrat for that matter, but I can dream

[Tiggeroshii]

6. It'll put congress on the spotlight and give them the chance to pick a normal republican

Not Hillary

As much as I would like that

[sarisataka]

12. The only ones that can be

considered by the House are the top three Electoral vote receivers; they cannot pick just anyone.

[Tiggeroshii]

13. Ten democratic electors have said they will

Vote for a mitt or kasich

[sarisataka]

21. So you need that

plus enough Electors to abandon Trump so he does not get 270. Then the House would have to select a Republican who was not even in the election and received zero popular votes.

I would sooner count on winning Powerball and Megamillions this week...

[Tiggeroshii]

27. More likely that a house doesn't vote for rump

Than it is for the electors to flip. But if enough just abstain it will do the trick. Still either way there's a very tiny chance it could happen.

[still_one]

28. That is right, however, if the republican electors get together, they can choose a different

candidate, that could theoretically prevent any one candidate from getting the required 270, and the house would then choose from those three candidates

[LonePirate]

2. He still wins in that scenario because the vote then goes to the House and they will elect him.

Someone besides him has to win 270 votes tomorrow or he will become President on January 20.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

4. But most republicans don't like Trump

If the repugs actually had the chance to put another republican in office, I think they might actually try it.

[Tiggeroshii]

7. My point exactly :)

[onenote]

8. Not. A. Chance

Trump got more votes than all Repub house candidates combined. If they chose someone who ran against trump and lost or didn't run at all they'd all face primary opponents in two years, especially if trump still has considerably more EVs than the third place finisher (the only option the house can consider).

[kudzu22]

24. No way

They'd all be voted out in their primaries when their terms end.

[still_one]

36. I really hope they do, but the odds are against it

[PoliticAverse]

5. The Constitution only allows the House to pick from the top 3 electoral vote getters...

If only Clinton or Trump got electoral votes that would be their only 2 possible choices.

So at least one elector has to vote for someone other than Clinton or Trump if Republicans
in the House were opening to picking a Republican other than Trump.

The House would not select Clinton.

[Tiggeroshii]

9. It will only take one person to pick an alternative republican

So far ten democratic electors have said they would do that

[PoliticAverse]

15. Ten democratic electors are voting for a Republican rather than Clinton tomorrow? n/t

[Tiggeroshii]

29. Yep

So they say

[femmocrat]

10. I would like to see it go to Congress because it would be public and in the open.

Can't you imagine the debates on C-span? It would expose all the rotten hypocrites and could *possibly* encourage an unexpected hero to emerge.

[dubyadiprecession]

11. Trump electors can cast a vote for any fictional being. If his elector count falls below Hillary's..

The GOP House of representatives can't do anything about it, She would Then win on a technicality.
Well, she would already have the popular vote!

[sarisataka]

16. Um no

If no one gets 270 it goes to the House. Period.

There is no technicality win

[dubyadiprecession]

19. A 269-269 tie goes to the house.

[sarisataka]

22. That is what I said

And even if Hillary has 269 votes and Trump has three with Mickey Mouse getting the rest the odds of Hillary getting the House vote is 0.0%

[Tiggeroshii]

30. Not zero. Republicans can be split while democrats unite behind clinton

Then it goes to the senate cause you need a majority, and only three republicans will have to flip for Clinton to take it. Still a moonshot, but if I only have a few more hours to dream before trump is actually president elect, I'll take those few precious hours 😁

[SickOfTheOnePct]

37. It doesn't work that way at all

If no one gets 270 (it doesn't have to be a 269-269 tie), the Presidential election goes to the House and the Vice Presidential election goes to the Senate. The Senate has nothing whatsoever to do with the Presidential vote.

Once in the House, every state gets a single vote, so the candidate with 26 wins the election.

[Tiggeroshii]

40. Actually you are wrong.

If nobody gets a majority in the house, it goes to he Senate

[SickOfTheOnePct]

43. Not according to the Constitution n/t

[Ace Rothstein]

17. That is wildly inaccurate.

[PoliticAverse]

18. If neither candidate gets 270 electoral votes it goes to the House.

If Trumps count drops below Clinton's because the rest of the votes went to someone
other than Clinton and Clinton still has below 270 it goes to the House who must pick among
the top 3 electoral vote getters.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

38. Totally, 100% wrong n/t

[rzemanfl]

14. I was just thinking the same thing. They would have to climb into his

tent and could not pretend to be on the outside pissing in.

A democratic elector could vote for an alternative Repuke. Maybe someone in Hawaii?

[onenote]

20. Give it up already. The Repubs in the House who voted against Trump getting the Presidency

would all face primaries in two years in the entirely unlikely event it had to be decided by the House. They aren't risking it. Period. End of discussion.

[JI7]

26. the fact they supported him in the first place means there is little chance of them not supporting

him.

[still_one]

31. Absolutely. There is a very remote possibility that enough of the republican electors could choose

different candidate, so no one candidate gets 270, then it would be sent to the house, where the house could choose that different candidate. It will still be a republican, but it could be someone less destructive than trump. We will still be screwed, but not as badly

[MFM008]

33. But think

To be rejected by the people
AND the electors.
Even if picked by the house.......

[oberliner]

34. Republican electors are going to vote for Trump

We need to deal with this reality and move on.

[Liberty Belle]

39. Claim a sudden case of stomach flu and don't show up

which throws it to the House to make the decision, but at least the elector can know in good conscience they did not vote to destroy America.

[Tiggeroshii]

41. This.

Easily.

[Jim Lane]

42. At least some states have alternate electors.

Maybe all do, I'm not sure (and I won't bother to look it up because this whole line of thinking is pure fantasy).

But, while we're fantasizing, suppose 50 or so Trump electors had been to a victory party last week when the roof collapsed and they all died. Even that wouldn't have elected Clinton, because many or all of the deceased electors would have been replaced by alternates.

Before the election, the state party submits a slate of names of would-be electors plus a full set of alternates. I'll hazard a guess that, if an elector doesn't show up, one of the alternates could be hastily summoned to the meeting.