DETROIT (AP) — Electors in Michigan are in line to obey state law and vote for Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
The state requires the 16 members of the Electoral College convening Monday at the statehouse to vote according to the results of the Michigan’s presidential election, which Trump won by .2 percentage points. However, most state electors were interviewed by The Associated Press, and all of them pledge their support for him regardless.
“We have a process, I’m respecting the process and he won by that process,” said Joseph Guzman, an elector and assistant professor at Michigan State University’s School of Human Resources and Labor Relations. “He’s my candidate. If there were no rules, I would vote for him, too.”
Unlike some other states where electors are “unbound,” those in Michigan are bound by law to vote for the state winner. If a Michigan elector doesn’t vote for that person, they are deemed to have resigned and are replaced.
While Michigan’s electors appear to be unanimous going into their vote in the Senate chambers, some places have dealt with rancor in their electoral ranks. Texas elector Chris Suprun recently reversed his pledge to support Trump, citing the billionaire businessman’s attacks on the First Amendment, postelection attacks on the country’s electoral process and overseas business interests.
Confident Trump will win but concerned about wavering support, one Michigan elector created a website urging Trump supporters to rally electors around the president-elect.
Brian Fairbrother, deputy clerk for the Detroit suburb of Shelby Township, said he launched ElectorsforTrump.com to counteract a deluge of missives electors have received from people urging votes for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton or another Republican.
“Right now, we’re being bombarded with letters and emails and Facebook invitations, telling us to vote for Hillary Clinton, and I don’t want to see anyone swayed,” he said. “I think Donald Trump earned the right to be president, and at this point, we as members of the Electoral College should vote for Donald.”
Hank Fuhs, an elector from Grand Rapids, said he has heard from about 50,000 people, mainly from other states.
“I don’t get upset they’re doing that — it’s their right to express their opinions,” he said. “They can ask me all they want, but they don’t understand how the process works, nor do they appreciate it. I do hope they all voted.”
