DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - All Iowa’s Electoral College voters cast their ballots for Republican Donald Trump on Monday in a brief ceremony that was light-hearted for those voting but difficult for some watching the process.
Gov. Terry Branstad presided over the voting, and as he walked into a conference room filled with media representatives, he quipped, “Normally we don’t get many people at this event.”
This year was different because opponents of Trump had urged Electoral College voters from across the nation to not back Trump, denying him the presidency.
In the days before the balloting, Iowa electors had made clear they would support Trump and they quickly did so after sitting at a long conference table. Secretary of State Paul Pate then read their selection of Donald Trump and Mike Pence for vice president, and the event was finished.
“That was pretty easy,” elector James Whitmer said, leaning toward Branstad. “Do we get to keep the pen?”
Despite the speed of the event, it left some shaken.
Mary Barrett and her daughter, Rebecca Barrett, drove from Iowa City to the Capitol for the event. They held each other and cried as they stood behind TV cameras and watched the participants sign their ballots.
“I’m terrified what President-elect Trump may do,” Mary Barrett said. “I was so surprised how sad it made me feel.”
Rebecca Barrett said it was her idea to come to Des Moines to see the event because she wanted to feel she’d done everything possible to show her opposition to Trump. She considered yelling to stop the proceeding, but decided to “be quiet while our rights are taken away.”
None of the electors, who were chosen at Republican district conventions, spoke about the election, but Branstad noted Trump had beaten Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 9 percentage points in Iowa and had won 93 of the state’s 99 counties.
Although some Trump opponents were allowed to watch the event, more were refused entry to the conference room in the Capitol basement.
Heather Tidd, of Lakeville, Minnesota, brought three of her four children to Des Moines in hopes of witnessing the process. As a supporter of Democrat Bernie Sanders, Tidd said she and her children decided to make the three hour drive to Des Moines and hold signs opposing Trump, since Clinton had won in Minnesota.
Before the event she acknowledged the unlikelihood her family’s signs would sway electors but felt compelled to try, anyway.
They were disappointed to not be allowed in to watch.
“We wanted to see it ourselves, but we were left with confusion and mystery,” Tidd said.
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