Electors cement Biden’s victory
Ballots cast by Electoral College members in every state
Electors in every state gathered Monday to cast their votes and solidify the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
Based on the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election, Biden was set to collect 306 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 232 by the end of the day. To win the White House, a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes — a threshold Biden reached around
5:30 p.m. as California’s electors completed their duty.
New York’s electors gathered at the state Capitol at noon and voted to hand all 29 of the state’s votes to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
New York’s electors included former President Bill Clinton, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-cousins and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado oversaw the vote in the Assembly chamber.
Unlike the usual crush of political VIPS in the more compact state Senate chamber, this year’s electors worked to maintain social distance in the Assembly, with each masked voter dropping their paper ballots into two wooden boxes at the front of the chamber, one for Biden and one for Harris.
Cuomo, who was elected president of New York’s Electoral College, said the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the importance of good leadership.
“This pandemic, these masks, this physical configuration are a stark reminder to the nation that government matters and leadership matters, and good government can not only improve people’s lives, but can literally save people’s lives,” he said.
New York’s electors voted to forgo their compensation — $15 for the day, plus 13 cents per mile “each way
from his place of residence by the most usual traveled route,” according to state law — and give that money to the nonprofit Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty organization in New York City.
State electors, who are usually chosen by the political parties, cast their ballots based on the popular vote in their state. Trump has pressured state lawmakers to back alternate electors to swing the election in his favor, but no state has agreed to do so.
The Electoral College ballots will be formally counted by Congress on Jan. 6; once they are accepted, the election will be concluded.
Trump has not yet conceded the election and has continued to file numerous legal challenges to the election results, which have been deemed meritless by judges in multiple states. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a Texas lawsuit challenging results in four
states won by Biden.
That lawsuit was supported by 106 House Republicans, including two from New York: U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik of Schuylerville and Lee Zeldin of Long Island.
Two weeks ago, Stefanik said, “As the president said, if the Electoral College and the vote is certified for Joe Biden, he will be ensured a smooth transition.” Stefanik did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said it was a “national embarassment” that some Republicans have not yet acknowledged Biden as president-elect and have joined Trump’s lawsuits.
“This year, it seems as if Joe Biden has had to be declared the winner of the presidential election again, and again, and again — and still, our Republican colleagues have not fully come to grips with that reality,” Schumer said.