MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - About 200 Vermont activists packed a Statehouse hearing room and the hall outside before Monday’s electoral college vote, and then stayed to watch as the state’s three electors cast their ballots for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The demonstrators’ chants - “This is what democracy looks like” and “One person, one vote” - were directed at a national outcome that appeared certain to elect Republican Donald Trump as the nation’s 45th president.
When the state’s three electors - Gov. Peter Shumlin, state Rep. Tim Jerman and Martha Allen, president of the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association - entered the room, the atmosphere changed from raucous and passionate to quiet and collegial.
Under the direction of Secretary of State Jim Condos, the electors followed state law and their Democratic leanings and gave Vermont’s three electoral votes to Clinton, who won 55.7 percent of the Vermont vote on Nov. 8, versus 29.8 percent for Trump. Trump won the race nationally.
Jerman arrived early and addressed the demonstrators, acknowledging that many in Sen. Bernie Sanders’ adopted home state still fervently wish he were the one preparing for inauguration on Jan. 20.
“At the (Democratic) National Convention I happily and strongly supported Bernie Sanders as a delegate in Philadelphia, and then when Hillary Clinton won the nomination there, I proudly supported Hillary Clinton. She won the Vermont vote, and I will definitely vote for her,” Jerman said.
Jerman also said he agrees with the criticisms voiced by those in the room for the Electoral College process, which appeared poised to elect Trump despite the national popular vote favoring Clinton.
Jerman was a leader as a House member in 2011 in Vermont’s decision to join a growing list of states committed to a “national popular vote” movement. The goal is to have enough states signing up to comprise the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Those states agree in advance to have their electors support the winner of the national popular vote, which would effectively circumvent the current Electoral College process.
After the vote, Shumlin, who is stepping down as governor after three two-year terms, told reporters, “You know, I think we all have to accept that Donald Trump is going to be president of the United States.”
But he urged his fellow Democrats, “Let’s get mad, let’s get moving. Let’s get people elected to offices from school boards and select boards all the way up and down the ticket. It’s time for us to take our country back.”
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