Alaska’s three voters in the Electoral College will cast the state’s votes for president at 11 a.m. today in the Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives and Museum.
The electors — former Gov. Sean Parnell, Carolyn Leman, and Jacqueline Tupou of Juneau — are each expected to sign a certificate pre-printed with the name of Republican president-elect Donald Trump.
Monday’s ceremony will include performances by the Alaska Youth Choir, the Juneau-Douglas High School Choir, and a presentation of the national colors.
The electors were chosen at the Republican state convention in April, and after a particularly contentious election, each has been the subject of thousands of emails and letters urging them to vote for anyone other than Trump.
An Anchorage resident even filed a lawsuit in an attempt to bar the electors from picking Trump, but U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess on Friday dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, suggesting the plaintiff should try passing a Constitutional amendment.
Even if one (or all) of Alaska’s electors picked someone other than Trump, they would have to be joined by others across the nation to change the result.
Trump has 36 more electoral college votes than needed to be elected president, and thus far only one Republican voter has said he will vote for someone else.
If 37 electors pick someone other than Trump, the president would be decided by a vote of the House of Representatives, which has a Republican majority. The House is not limited to selecting from the presidential candidates on the November ballot — Representatives could choose anyone who meets the Constitutional requirements for President.
Juneauites opposed to Trump’s election are planning to protest Monday’s ceremony and urge the three Alaskan electors to pick someone else. A candlelight vigil has been scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday in front of the Capitol, and a protest will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Monday at the SLAM.
