Washington elector refuses to vote for Hillary Clinton
Nov 7, 2016, 7:28 AM
A Democratic elector in Washington state won’t vote for Hillary Clinton, even if she takes the popular vote.
Puyallup Tribe member Robert Satiacum is one of the state’s 12 electors and he says Clinton has not been a consistent advocate for Native Americans.
Satiacum believes Clinton is a “criminal” who doesn’t care enough about Native Americans.
“She will not get my vote, period,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
Americans vote for the president on Election Day, but what they’re really doing is casting votes for each state’s electors, who will decide the next president on Dec. 19.
In all but two states, the winner of the state’s popular vote gets all of the state’s electors. There’s nothing in the Constitution that says electors are required to vote for a particular candidate, but some states, like Washington, can issue a $1,000 penalty to a so-called “faithless electors.” Satiacum would face such a fine, but he doesn’t care.
“This is a time we all need to stand up and speak out,” he told the AP.
Satiacum believes Bernie Sanders made a better effort to reach out to Native Americans.
At least the phone calls will stop after Election Day
The Associated Press contributed to this story.