Christopher Suprun, a paramedic and former firefighter who was among the first responders at the Pentagon on 9/11, said he would vote instead for a Republican “alternative” the country could unite behind, naming John Kasich as a possibility.
He becomes the eighth so-called “faithless elector” from across the US to declare publicly that he will go against the mandate given to him by the result of the presidential election.
Members of the electoral college, of which there are 538 in total and Texas has 38, are largely expected to vote in accordance with the majority of voters in their state. Mr Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 52 per cent to 43 per cent.
But writing in the New York Times, Mr Suprun cited Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Papers, the founding documents behind the electoral college system, and insisted that “electors of conscience can still do the right thing for the good of the country”.
“Federalist 68 argued that an Electoral College should determine if candidates are qualified, not engaged in demagogy, and independent from foreign influence,” he said. “Mr. Trump shows us again and again that he does not meet these standards.”
No comments:
Post a Comment