Some Central Coast residents are gearing up for a trip to Sacramento. A growing movement is organizing rallies at state capitols on Monday, December 19 in the hours before the Electoral College is scheduled to vote for the next president and vice-president. The demonstrators hope to persuade electors from casting their ballot for Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
From 538 members of the Electoral College, a majority of 270 votes is needed to elect the president.
On Wednesday, 40 members of the Electoral College signed an open letter to U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper detailing how the U.S. intelligence community “concluded definitely” that the Russians helped Trump get elected.
“The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations,” the Electors write in the letter. “We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.”
San Luis Obispo county resident Nan Albee says she’s going to Sacramento to attend the planned rally and send a message to the Electoral College "to call on them to listen to the voice of the people and refuse to cast their ballots for Donald Trump," as rally organizers state.
“This is the most important thing at this time, I mean it is a longshot,” Albee said Wednesday.
Using the hashtag #stoptrump, the coordinated protest is slated to happen between eight a.m. and noon on Monday. More information can be found here.