More than a quarter of all Democratic electors have joined an effort to receive intelligence briefings about any ongoing investigations into Donald Trump‘s ties to Russia ahead of the Electoral College vote, increasing frustration among his supporters.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 55 of the 538 electors—all but one of them Democrats—have signed an open letter addressed to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper demanding details regarding any potential investigations into Trump’s relationship with the Russian government. The letter follows reports that Russia-backed hackers breached Democratic Party institutions and people connected to Democrat Hillary Clinton‘s campaign, and leaked emails and documents that influence the outcome of the American election in Trump’s favor.
Trump secured 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232, placing him well above the 270 electoral votes needed for a win. The Electoral College is expected to officially certify Trump’s election victory in a vote on Dec. 19.
In a Facebook post, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) called for the Electoral College to delay its vote until electors can be briefed on Trump and Russia. “I believe that Electors should be given all information relevant to this interference before they make their decisions and before they cast their votes,” Beyer wrote.
Trump supporters, meanwhile, have expressed growing frustration over any efforts to deny Trump the presidency through the Electoral College mechanism. The hashtag #InformTheElectors trended on Twitter on Wednesday as Clinton supporters pushed for electors to defect against Trump, while Trump’s backers called the efforts undemocratic and hypocritical.
