The seven so-called “faithless” votes cast by members of the Electoral College on Monday may go down as a noisy footnote to an otherwise chaotic 2016 election. But they also represent a historic breach between electors and the candidates they were expected to vote for. The number of faithless votes has now become the most-ever cast in a single presidential election. The record was set in 1808, when six Democratic-Republican electors opposed James Madison. It’s also the first time since 1832 in which more than a single elector cast a faithless vote. The bulk of the votes came from Washington state, where three Democratic electors bucked Hillary Clinton and cast votes for Colin Powell, a retired general, an African-American — and a Republican. These Democrats were supporting a failed effort meant to block the election of Donald Trump and unite behind an alternative Republican candidate. Powell turned out to be their choice.
A fourth Washington state elector — Robert Satiacum — cast his ballot for Native American activist Faith Spotted Eagle. And a fifth vote against Clinton came late Monday in Hawaii, where one elector voted for Bernie Sanders.
The only two anti-Trump votes occurred in Texas. One, cast by elector Chris Suprun for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, was expected. But a second, cast by an unknown elector for libertarian former Rep. Ron Paul, was a surprise.
Full Article: Electoral College sees record-breaking defections – POLITICO.