A Washington State Democratic presidential elector says he won’t vote for Hillary Clinton even if she wins as expected the state’s popular vote.
Robert Satiacum, a member of the Pullayup Tribe who had supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primary, said Friday he cannot bring himself to cast his Electoral College vote for Mrs. Clinton.
“No, no, no, no on Hillary. Absolutely not,” Mr. Satiacum told the Seattle Times.
The 56-year-old elector, an outspoken foe of the Dakota Access pipeline, also said he’s spoken to other national Democratic electors who are thinking of doing the same thing.
“I hope it comes down to a swing vote and it’s me,” he said. “Good. She ain’t getting it. Maybe it’ll wake this country up.”
While the results of the presidential race will be announced shortly after the Nov. 8 balloting, the election will actually be decided Dec. 19 by 538 electors, who cast their votes based on the popular vote in their states.
A candidate must win 270 electoral votes to capture the presidency. If no candidate reaches the threshold, the decision rests with the House of Representatives, voting by state delegation, to choose a winner from the top three electoral-vote recipients.
In Washington, an elector who goes against the popular vote, known as a “faithless elector,” is subject to a $1,000 fine, but Mr. Satiacum said he could not face his six children and 10 grandchildren if he were to cast his elector ballot for Mrs. Clinton.
“We are looking down off the cliff. As humanity, we are there. We cannot go four more years with either of these idiots,” he said, adding that he would also not vote for Republican Donald Trump.
Mr. Satiacum is one of 12 electors chosen earlier this year at the Washington Democratic Party Convention. Mr. Sanders won the state caucuses.
The Pullayup Tribal Council, which has supported Mrs. Clinton, distanced itself last month from Mrr. Satiacum, saying he “risks dishonoring himself” if he refuses to back the popular-vote winner.
Mrs. Clinton enjoys a 3-to-1 lead in deep-blue Washington state.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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