The battle over the next U.S. president took to the Tallahassee streets Saturday. A group of protestors at the state capitol called on Florida’s 29 electors not to vote for President-elect Donald Trump ahead of today’s vote.
Dozens of people took to the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and Monroe Street to ask state electors to “flip their vote.”
Organizer Lakey Love, a PhD student at Florida State University, said she’s concerned about Trump’s ties to Russia and his vice-president’s opposition to same-sex marriage and transgender rights.
“And we’re out here today specifically to send a message to those Florida voters," she said. "We support them and that we want them to flip the vote. Right, vote their conscience and try to save democracy and the United States.”
The FBI and CIA have asserted Russia interfered in the election to help Trump win. Trump has denied that, saying he doesn’t believe the claim.
Gary Snow, a Trump supporter, stood on the opposite side of the street from the Tallahassee protesters Saturday and protested them. A Jacksonville resident, Snow brought his own music - including sounds of a baby crying - to taunt the group. He says Love and the other women organizers are anti-white males.
"Now, instead of campaigning for Donald J. Trump, I’m out here supporting our president-elect, our next 45th president Donald J. Trump," he said. "I hear them chanting over there “This is what democracy look like.” This is not what democracy look like. This is anarchy.”
The Constitution doesn’t require members of the Electoral College to vote for the candidate who won the state… but that is the tradition.
Florida Senate President Joe Negron is one of the electors who plan to cast their vote for Trump. Negron has said he supports the President-elect, despite the amount of mail and messages he’s gotten pleading with him to change his mind. Love said she doesn’t know of any Florida elector who has changed their mind about voting for Trump.
