OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma’s seven Republican electors selected Donald Trump during a ceremony Monday at the state Capitol, formalizing the New York billionaire’s November win in the state by more than 36 points.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, Secretary of State Mike Hunter and each of the seven electors signed several documents certifying the vote for Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
“This is a very important, patriotic duty that you’re fulfilling today,” Fallin told the electors shortly before the ceremony began. “We appreciate your service to our state, your service to our nation.”
State Rep. Bobby Cleveland, a Republican elector from Lexington, wore a red “Make America Great Again” cap during the event.
The ceremony was delayed for a few minutes because the original Oklahoma state seal used to stamp the documents had its plates removed. A member of Fallin’s legal staff had to retrieve a functioning state seal.
“I hope it’s not in Guthrie,” Hunter joked, referring to the state’s original capital city about 30 miles north of Oklahoma City.
The signed documents will be delivered to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the federal archivist and the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office, Fallin said.
Before the ceremony, about two dozen protesters gathered outside the Capitol to urge the electors not to cast their ballots for Trump.
“I would hope the electors would look at the actions Donald Trump has taken since the election and recognize this is not a man who they made a promise to vote for,” said Robert Hamm, a Hillary Clinton supporter from Edmond. “He made an appeal to the common man, but he’s taken actions that show his government will represent only the most wealthy.”
Several of Oklahoma’s electors said they had been bombarded with correspondence from people across the United States urging them not to support Trump, but none indicated a willingness to change their vote.
“With respect to the people who were writing me, there was never a chance that I was going to change my vote,” said David Oldham, an elector from Tulsa.
Oklahoma also has a state law prohibiting electors from voting for anyone other than the state’s election winner.
In all, 538 electors are gathering in state capitols nationwide to vote for president. Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232 in the general election.
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