Electoral college formally elects Donald Trump as president
Trump victory sealed despite demonstrations across the country, with Congress to formally endorse result in special session on 6 January
The denouement of the 2016 election came on Monday, as electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia formally elected Donald Trump as president of the United States.
An effort by anti-Trump activists, who had urged electors to back efforts led by celebrities and academics to cast their ballots at variance with election results to keep Trump from reaching the necessary 270 electoral votes, came to practically nothing. With counts still ongoing in California and Texas, the number of electoral college members who attempted to cast a protest vote was likely to reach at least nine.
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In some state capitals, proceedings were met with protests.
More than 200 demonstrators were on the steps of Pennsylvanias capitol in Harrisburg on Monday morning, waving signs and chanting in chilly, 25F weather. They chanted No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA! and No treason, no Trump!
Several dozen protesters gathered outside South Carolinas statehouse in Columbia, waving signs with messages imploring electors not to back the president-elect.
Vermont was the first state to report the results of its vote. As expected, all three electors voted for Clinton. Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia and South Carolina followed for Trump, and Delaware for Clinton as the totals started to mount.
With Hawaii still to vote, Trump had 304 votes and Clinton had 224. It takes 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/19/electoral-college-votes-donald-trump-electors