TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than two dozen loyal Republicans gathered in the Senate chamber of the Florida Capitol on Monday afternoon and cast the state’s 29 votes in the Electoral College for President Donald Trump.
This process, spelled out in the U.S. Constitution played out throughout the day Monday in state capitals across the United States.
The 29 electors -- many of them current or former elected or party officials -- were submitted to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Aug. 31 and earned a seat in the chamber when Trump won the most votes in Florida in the Nov. 3 election.
EXPLAINED: The Electoral College | Biden hopes Electoral College vote is turning point for GOP
The Republican electors include Florida GOP Chairman Joe Gruters, a state senator from Sarasota; state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo from Naples; state Sen. Keith Perry of Gainesville; incoming House Speaker Chris Sprowls of Palm Harbor; state Rep. Jason Fischer of Jacksonville; state Rep. Randy Fine of Palm Bay; and state Rep. Daniel Perez from Miami.
Incoming state Senate President Wilton Simpson tested positive for COVID-19 during screenings required prior to Monday’s meeting and did not attend. The other 28 electors nominated and confirmed Sen. Jeff Brandes, of St. Petersburg, to be Simpson’s replacement.
DeSantis, with his young daughter Madison in his lap, and the other Republican members of the Florida Cabinet attended Monday’s ceremony.
“It’s a very historic day. It’s one of the unique functions in the Constitution and I’m so very proud to be a part of it,” said Fischer, who was also a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention.
Had Joe Biden carried the state, a slate of 29 prominent Democrats selected as that party’s electors would be voting Monday instead and, based on the certified popular vote, Biden will win 306 electoral votes to 232 votes for Trump. It takes 270 votes to be elected.
That fact made Monday a bittersweet day for Dr. Roy Hinman, of St. Augustine, who case one of Florida’s 29 votes for Trump.
“Well, as they say up north, ‘It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.’ I think that was Yogi Berra,” Hinman said. “I don’t think the fat lady has sung up to this point.”
The vote is forwarded to Congress to be official counted during a joint session of the House and Senate on Jan. 6. Only once in the nation’s history -- 1824 -- has the U.S. House chosen a president when no candidate got a majority. The House elected John Quincy Adams over Henry Clay.
Gruters said he’ll support the president “until we exhaust all options to make sure that every legal vote counts.”
“I think there are still options available for the president,” Gruters told reporters before casting his ballot. “We’ve been encouraging him here in Florida to do everything you possibly can to make sure that all legal and valid votes are counted. And at the end of the day, I think, hopefully, the president will win a second term. But if not, we’ll move on.”
Following weeks of Republican legal challenges that were easily dismissed by judges, Trump and Republican allies tried to persuade the Supreme Court last week to set aside 62 electoral votes for Biden in four states, which might have thrown the outcome into doubt.
The justices rejected the effort on Friday.
In 32 states and the District of Columbia, laws require electors to vote for the popular-vote winner. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld this arrangement in July.
Electors almost always vote for the state winner anyway because they generally are devoted to their political party. There’s no reason to expect any defections this year.
Florida GOP Chairman Joe Gruters said that even if Trump’s challenges continue to fall short, he will still be a national force.
“Whether or not he starts preparing for the 2024 cycle, I think there’s a lot of people around the state that will continue to support him,” Gruters said.