Unite for America have created a celebrity-stuffed PSA begging GOP electors to change their vote, and are rewriting election history to build their case. Billing itself as a multi-partisan group, they are hoping to get 37 electors to vote their conscience and deny President-elect #Donald Trump the 270 votes needed in the electoral college. If 37 defect, the vote would go the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.
On their site, they say this has happened before in history, and use the 1800 election of President Thomas Jefferson as an Orwellian example of the House of Representatives and the electoral college being activated to “solve a crisis like today’s.” They don’t, however, tell you what happened in the 1800 presidential election, which would cast a dark shadow over their dubious goals.
Don’t worry Martin Sheen, I can’t do any worse running America than you did raising Charlie Sheen! #UniteForAmericapic.twitter.com/nXfSOSmCOT
— President Trump (@Writeintrump) December 15, 2016
The 1800 election
Considered one of the most bitter races in election history, Federalist Aaron Burr was running as vice president on the same ticket as Democratic-#Republican President Thomas Jefferson. At that time, ballots didn’t distinguish between votes for president and those of vice president. Since both won the same number of electoral votes (73), the election was ultimately decided by the Federalist-controlled House of Representatives. After much lobbying by Federalist Party leader Alexander Hamilton (he didn’t like Burr), a majority voted for Jefferson on February 17, 1801. It took 36 ballots.
Because of the problems with the 1800 election, Congress proposed and eventually passed the Twelfth Amendment in June 1804, which forced electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president. The amendment replaced the process outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the constitution. Does any of this sound like today’s so-called crisis?
