ATLANTA (AP) - The Latest on Georgia’s electoral college vote (all times local):
12:45 p.m.
All 16 presidential electors in Georgia have formally backed Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
The group voted at the state Capitol in Atlanta, joining counterparts in every state formally casting electoral votes on Monday.
Georgia’s statewide political parties each choose a slate of electors to represent voters in the electoral college. Trump won about 50 percent of Georgia’s popular vote, topping Hillary Clinton’s 45 percent. His victory here assured that the Republican party’s slate of longtime officials and volunteers represented Georgia in the electoral college.
Georgia law doesn’t require electors to honor the state’s popular vote, but those selected this year never swayed.
Protesters still hoping to change electors’ votes gathered outside the Capitol before the vote. But the protests and written pleas sent to electors nationwide had no effect in Georgia.
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12:10 p.m.
Georgia electors have chosen the state Republican Party chairman to fill an empty spot, created when a former elector resigned after saying he could not support Donald Trump.
The other 15 electors on Monday selected John Padgett to fill the elector spot formerly held by Baoky Vu.
Vu, a naturalized citizen from Vietnam, said in August that he could not vote for Trump and may not support Trump in the electoral college. Vu’s statement prompted intense pushback from the businessman’s supporters in the state. Vu resigned the same day.
Georgia law doesn’t require electors selected by the state party to back their party’s candidate. But the 16 electors chosen by fellow Republicans say they have no plans to ditch Trump, who won Georgia’s popular vote.
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10:30 a.m.
Demonstrators have gathered near Georgia’s Capitol hours before electors in the state are expected to back Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
About 200 people marched, chanted “Dump Trump, save America” and waved signs, joining similar protests around the country in a last-ditch effort to persuade electors not to support Trump. The efforts aren’t expected to work in Georgia or prevent Trump’s selection as president.
Elizabeth Hensley, a graduate student from the Atlanta area, said she understands the protest isn’t likely to change the electoral college outcome. But Hensley, 30, said she hoped it would inspire people who oppose Trump to get more involved during his presidency.
“We can’t be passive as Americans anymore,” she said, holding a poster board with the words “Not whining, standing up for our country.”
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3:30 a.m.
Republicans chosen as Georgia’s presidential electors are set to support President-elect Donald Trump.
The electors convene Monday at noon to cast their ballots inside the state Capitol in Atlanta.
The group has been swamped by emails, letters and other appeals to vote for another candidate, part of a longshot national effort to deny Trump the presidency.
Georgia law doesn’t require electors selected by the state party to back their party’s candidate. But electors chosen by fellow Republicans say they have no plans to ditch Trump, who won Georgia’s popular vote.
In Georgia, the electors will have to fill the empty 16th slot before casting their ballots. Baoky Vu resigned his position in August after backlash to public comments that he may not support Trump as an elector.
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