密歇根新闻广播 为什么密歇根法律让总统选举人无法变节

Electors gathered today at their state capitols to formalize Donald Trump¹'s election to the presidency². As expected, Michigan's 16 electors cast their votes for Donald Trump.

In the days leading up to today's vote, however, electors endured intense pressure from people around the country to vote against the President-Elect.

"They've been getting letters, lots of them, in the mail and emails," said Detroit News Lansing reporter Chad Livengood. "One elector I talked to – Wyckham Seelig from the Ann Arbor³ area – he got over 62,000 emails over the last five weeks from people across the country trying to get him to change his vote and buck⁴ Donald Trump."

Livengood joined Stateside today from the Capitol where he said a couple hundred protesters were gathered outside in the seven-degree weather.

He said some electors, like Oakland University student Michael Banerian, even received implied death threats.

"Michigan law specifically says that electors basically resign their position if they try to vote for somebody other than the person they are nominated to vote for."

But this response to this year's meeting of the electoral college is anything but typical. Livengood said usually the meeting is a "pretty perfunctory procedure."

In fact, Michigan law makes it next to impossible for electors to change their votes.

"Michigan law specifically says that they basically resign their position if they try to vote for somebody other than the person they are nominated to vote for," Livengood said. "And then, from there, the other 15 electors would be able to appoint a replacement⁵. So, you effectively are required to vote for Donald Trump if you are a Donald Trump elector."

In the unlikely scenario⁶ that enough Donald Trump electors across the country don't vote for the President-elect, Livengood said a "constitutional crisis" would effectively ensue, requiring the Republican-controlled House to pick a president.

For more, including Livengood's thoughts on leaving the Capitol and the Detroit News to cover Detroit for Crain's Detroit Business, listen above.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

4 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。