Letter to Republican Electoral College members

I thought I would share my email to the Republican U.S Electoral College electors. I sent a similar letter to 68 of the GOP electors from Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin and sent an email to as many electors as possible.

Use this link to send your own letter. It's not too late to have your voice heard!


Dear Elector,

My name is Jeff Udall and I reside in Portland OR. I know your time is valuable and you must be overwhelmed with letters from voters from every part of the country but I felt I must add my voice to those pleading for action on your part.

I won’t waste your time asking you to vote for Hilary Clinton next week, however, I do plead for you to consider the future and stability of our nation and democracy and not vote for Donald Trump for president on Monday, December 19th.Appointing a candidate to the office of President of the United States who has not won the popular vote could be damaging to our democracy and the legitimacy of the U.S. Presidency itself.

Even if you personally believe in Donald Trump and what he stands for, it would be much better to allow elected members of Congress have the final say in this contentious and controversial election. Please allow vote for President to go before the United States Congress in January.

To stand up for democracy and the good of the nation and go against your pledge to vote for the Republican candidate is a difficult task. I know it is a great sacrifice to ask of you. You risk not only the anger of your fellow Republicans but possibly legal action and fines. It is no small thing to ask you to go against years of tradition and at great personal risk to stand up for principals that are often thought to have been won ages ago with the Revolutionary War.

Unfortunately we find ourselves in a national crisis unique in our history, and you and your peers are uniquely qualified to do something about it. The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers for the very situation we find ourselves in: to prevent the election of an unqualified candidate to President. Donald Trump is not just unqualified but also failed to win the popular vote from American voters. Further, there are serious questions about the role foreign hackers had in swaying the election. Never has a candidates disqualifications and illegitimacy been so clear, and yet you still have a momentous decision to make.
 
However clear the case for Donald Trump to not be president, you are still in a position where you must justify your choice to yourself, your peers, and to the rest of the country. There are a multitude of reasons that electing Donald Trump would be the wrong decision and I’m sure you have heard many of them. However I will list them in what I would consider to be the order of most importance to you:

• You are free to vote your conscience. The Constitution upholds your right to vote as you choose, and asks you to align your vote with what you believe. Regardless of any pledges you have made. Regardless of intimidation and peer pressure you face. You are not required to vote for a candidate you don’t believe in. You may not be comfortable voting for Hillary Clinton, but regardless of whom you give your vote to, if you agree Trump is not qualified for office you must not vote for him.
• You can vote for some other candidate (Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, John McCain, etc) who won electoral votes in the past. You can vote for a historical person you believe in such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Ronald Reagan, etc. You could even vote for a fictional character that represents characteristics you value in a leader.
• Any alternate vote will serve the same purpose but should be a person you believe in with a clear conscience.

• Standing up for what is right in the face of overwhelming opposition is what this country was built on. If you change your vote you may face consequences. Although there is little risk you could face serious legal action, the threat is still there. Bravery is not the absence of fear, it is doing what is right in spite of it. Our heroes are people who stood up to injustice despite the law. Think of the Tea Party, Gandhi, and Rosa Parks. It may take a small amount of civil disobedience to fix the system. Too many tragedies in history have happened because people said they “had no choice.”
• There are many high-profile lawyers who will defend you and offer free council if you are feeling intimidated by legal threats. Also, many have pledged to pay any fines you are issued.
• The opposite is also the case – if you don’t take a stand you bear some responsibility for the damage Trump may do.
• You have the power to stop this. It is a heavy burden you are tasked with but there are many who will support your decision to stand up for democracy.

• The American people voted for someone else. Many people are using this point to ask you to should change your vote to Hillary Clinton. I know that is most likely not something you can do. Rather, I ask you to think of the serious problem the Electoral College will create if it appoints a candidate as President who was not democratically elected. Never in the history of America has there been such an overwhelming majority of votes for the candidate who was appointed fewer electors
• If you believe in democracy you must consider making a stand for your values and not vote for a candidate who was not democratically elected.
• Even if you consider yourself “only” a state representative, you must now know that the popular vote was not won by Donald Trump. You should not vote for someone to such an important office as President of the United States because of a technicality.

• Interference from foreign hackers and FBI Director Comey's letter influenced the November election. Regardless of the extent, it is clear these issues had some sway in the results. The narrow margin of election results in some areas, within a percentage point in many “swing” states, mean these small effects had a huge impact. The thought that Russia was able to influence the U.S. elections is disturbing to say the least. All the more reason to send the election to Congress in January when more information will be available.

• Elected members of Congress should decide such a contentious election. The Electoral College was designed to send contentious elections to Congress if they find issue with the candidates. The huge and historic discord between one candidate having the majority of votes from the American people and the majority of Electoral College electors asked to vote for the another candidate means this election’s final outcome, over every other election in our nation’s history, should be passed to the Congress of the United States. The Electoral College was never meant to stand in the way of the will of the nations voters.
• Sending the vote to Congress will help the legitimacy of the appointment, regardless of the candidate appointed.
• Most Americans don’t know who the Electoral College members are, and many feel the college simply acts as inference to democracy. It will go a long way to calm civil unrest if the vote for president was made by elected officials.

• This will be the last Electoral College. If the Electoral College elects a candidate without the support of the American electorate, let alone an unqualified and dangerous one such as Donald Trump, it will be the final straw for many voters. If the Electoral College cannot fulfill its sole purpose to prevent unqualified candidates from obtaining the Presidency then it will become simply an obstruction in the way of a democratic election process.
• The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will be easily ratified with the passion such an unjust action will provoke.
• This will quickly lead to a Constitutional amendment soon after.

There are also many other reasons to not vote for Trump, however I believe the above reasons to be the most important. Even if you personally want Donald Trump as President, I would still ask you to stand up for our democracy and not allow an unelected candidate be appointed by the Electoral College. If you personally want him to be president then take comfort in the thought that most likely a Republican Congress will appoint Trump.

This brings me to my final point: If Congress will likely just appoint Trump anyway, why should you go through all the pain and sacrifice it would take to stand up to your peers and make a historic vote against your pledged candidate? The reason is again the one repeated above: if the Electoral College goes against the will of the American voters it sets a dangerous precedent and causes damage our democracy. It will also damage the belief of the nation in the election process and the legitimacy of the office of President.

Sending the Presidential election to Congress allows the decision can be made by publicly elected representatives and also gives more time to look into concerns about Russian interference. This will be the best way to deal with the controversy of this election, restore faith in our democracy, and allow for the continued existence of the Electoral College.

Thank you for your time to read my letter and the letters of many Americans concerned for the future of our nation. I know your decision is not a simple one for you personally and would be a great sacrifice to go against your peers and the status quo. Thank you for your service to this country and for thoughtfully considering your choice before you cast your vote on Monday.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Udall