Ohio’s electors are: Rob Scott of Kettering, Ken Blackwell of Cincinnati, Bonnie Ward of Waverly, Barbara Clark of Columbus, Keith Cheney of Lima, Mark Wagoner of Ottawa Hills, Dave Johnson of Salem, Joy Padgett of Coshocton, Patti Alderson of West Chester, Steve Loomis of Cleveland, LeeAnn Johnson, Robert Paduchik of Westerville, Karen Arshinkoff of Hudson, James Wert of Lyndhurst, Jim Canepa of Dublin, Jane Timken of Canton. Statewide electors are Madison Gesiotto of Canton and Ryan Stenger of Canton.
Credit: Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispat
Credit: Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispat
Scott, who works in the Trump administration, called it an honor to serve twice as an elector for President Trump. Grassroots activists for Trump made up the bulk of the electors in 2016, Scott said, but this time around the electors and speakers included Ohio GOP insiders. He described the 2020 meeting of electors more accepting and friendly.
The Constitution provides each state one elector for each member of the House of Representatives and one for each senator. Currently, there are 538, including three from the District of Columbia, and 270 are needed to win the presidency. All but two states award electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis.
When all the votes are in, Joe Biden is expected to have 306 electoral votes to 232 for Donald Trump. In the popular vote count, Biden topped Trump by more than 7 million votes nationwide.
The newly elected Congress meets in a joint session on Jan. 6 to officially count the electoral ballots. The new president is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
“We the People voted,” Biden said. “Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact. And so, now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal.”
Presidential electors nationwide cast votes Monday that affirmed Biden as the nation’s next president, a formality that took on added importance this year because of Trump’s refusal to concede he lost reelection.
Heightened security was in place in some states as electors in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — the six battleground states that Biden won and Trump contested — gave Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris their votes Monday in low-key proceedings. Nevada’s electors met via Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic.
There have been concerns about safety for the electors, virtually unheard of in previous years. In Michigan, lawmakers from both parties reported receiving threats. Legislative offices in Michigan were closed Monday over threats of violence.
Credit: Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispat
Credit: Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispat
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has been passed by 15 states and the District of Columbia, is a system for states to pledge electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of who won the state vote. States representing 196 electoral votes have adopted the compact, which would take effect when it’s enacted by states with an additional 74 electoral votes.
A bill pending in the Ohio House to have Ohio join the compact has stalled and is not expected to win approval.
Information from the Associated Press is included in this report.
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