Electoral College could block Trump

The 2016 presidential election is not over yet. In fact the only vote that determines the next president will not be held until Dec. 19 when the Electoral College meets. We have more than a week to change the outcome.

There is much discussion of the Electoral College now that the winners of the popular vote (both Democrats) have lost the presidency in two of the last five elections — two of three when a president was not on the ballot seeking re-election. I have long favored making the national popular vote the metric that determines the presidential race. But reforming the electoral process is a discussion for another day — soon I hope.

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The issue at hand is more urgent: How the anachronistic Electoral College could derail the Trump presidency that looms like a dark shadow over the land.

It’s simple: If 38 of the 306 Trump electors voted for Hillary Clinton, she would be president and Trump would be stopped. Put differently, if one in eight Trump electors switched their votes, Hillary would be elected.

There is precedent for voting one’s conscience and not supporting the candidate you were sent to the Electoral College to support. Granted, it would be unprecedented for one-eighth of such partisan electors to switch sides — but this election is unprecedented in many other ways as well.

So I know this is a long shot. The Trump electors are Republicans after all. So why might 38 of them peel away and award the presidency to hated Hillary? Let me suggest several reasons.

First and foremost, through a long campaign Trump has shown himself to be temperamentally unfit to be president. It’s not just his racism, misogyny and xenophobia, which trouble the left more than the right. It’s his bombast, his volatility, his crude rudeness, his duplicity, his short attention span, the routine demeaning of his opponents, his celebration of his willful ignorance of world affairs, his hypersensitivity to criticism.

Are there a few Republican electors who share my concern about this unstable man holding the nuclear codes and the fate of our children and grandchildren — and the world — in his pocket?

Second, Hillary won the popular vote by more than 2 million votes. Given the widespread belief that Trump is unfit to be president, why not give the job to the candidate who got the votes of more Americans?

Remember, Republican electors, that most of you expected Trump to lose. Many Republican leaders wanted him to lose and planned on his losing. The Republicans would still hold the House and the Senate and could block almost any Clinton initiative.

Third, many Republicans are concerned that Trump, in the long run, will damage their brand and bring the GOP to ruin. Some Trump voters, like some pro-Brexit voters in the (once) United Kingdom, are experiencing buyer’s remorse.

Finally, dear electors, what if Trump does something really horrible, something that puts the nation at risk or puts world peace (however fragile) in jeopardy? Electors who voted for Trump will be held to account. It would be you, not the people, who elected him. You would be held in perpetual scorn, shunned by your own children.

So be a patriot, Republican elector. Defy tradition in this nontraditional election year. Do the right thing for your country. Vote for the candidate who is not crazy. Vote for the candidate who got the most votes. Hold your nose and vote for Hillary because, with all her flaws and limitations, she is the only person in the world who can prevent Donald Trump from becoming the most powerful person in the world. Save us from Donald Trump. And let other electors know that you will be voting for Hillary so they will be encouraged to do the same.

Fellow citizens: Please join me in lobbying the Trump electors to break ranks and support Hillary. This is a long shot, but right now it is the only shot we have. Talk and tweet with your friends. Write a letter to the editor. Let your voice be heard in the Electoral College.

For more on the Electoral College strategy, visit change.org, where nearly 5 million people have signed a petition urging Trump electors to vote for Hillary.

Clanton teaches sociology at San Diego State University and writes a column for the Del Mar Times and other suburban weeklies. He welcomes comments at gclanton@mail.sdsu.edu.