Claims on social media purport that the state of Nevada dissented from the state’s popular vote, and the state’s electors cast their Electoral College ballots for President Trump, despite Biden winning the popular vote in the state.
Spin-off rumours also claim that multiple other states followed suit, which would lead to Trump winning in the Electoral College.
On December 14th 2020, meetings were held in all 50 states to officially certify Joe Biden as the US President-Elect. This is accomplished when the electors from each state that represent the candidate who received the most votes in that state officially cast their ballot for that candidate. Those ballots are later tallied up in Congress in January 2021.
This is typically a rather mundane operation that usually receives little media attention. However, amid claims of fraud by President Trump and many Republican politicians, the Electoral College’s various mechanisms have received unprecedented attention.
For most states, electors are chosen as part of a two part process. Firstly each political party chooses their own slate of electors. And secondly, as the results of the presidential election become known, the slate of electors that represent the winning candidate become the electors for that state, and then officially cast their ballot for that candidate. This is what happened on December 14th 2020.
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However, an elector can still opt to cast their ballot for any candidate, despite representing the candidate that won the state. These are called “faithless electors”.
Rumours online claim this is what happened in Nevada. Such rumours claim that the Nevada electors cast their ballots for President Trump, effectively handing Trump the state’s electoral votes despite him losing the popular vote.
However no such thing happened and such rumours are the result of confusing articles from a variety of partisan blogs, such as this headline from DavidHarrisJr.com –
REVOLT IN THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE: Nevada GOP Electors Cast Ballot for Trump, There Are Now Dueling Electors In Three States!
There has been no revolt in the Electoral College. As expected, the six electors in Nevada cast their ballots for Joe Biden, the winner of that state’s popular vote.
The blogs and headlines in question refer to an unofficial event held by Republicans in Nevada, where the Republican electors representing Trump cast their ballots for the president, despite him losing the state. However this was an unofficial event, literally held outside on a small table. Many have claimed it is merely a charade or act of protest, while many Republicans maintain it was done to ensure that once the courts discover electoral fraud, Republicans have their Electoral College ballots cast, ready and waiting. (However, needless to say, Trump has not been successful in his pursuit of fraud or in the courts.)
The event has already been panned as inconsequential by many in the legal profession or involved in these election lawsuits.
Congress can only tabulate the electoral ballots from electors representing the winning candidate of each state. President Trump would first need to not only (somehow) nullify Joe Biden’s win in Nevada, but also have a court (somehow) declare him as the winner of Nevada for these unofficial electors to have any potential impact. Something that is made even less likely since Nevada has now already officially certified for Joe Biden.
Other states have made similar unofficial Electoral College ballot casting, and again these are similarly inconsequential, and do not represent any type of “revolt” or surprise. Joe Biden has now officially passed the 270 mark needed to take the White House on January 20th.