Pa. casts 19 Electoral College votes for Donald Trump

The vote is one of several administrative and largely symbolic steps before inaugurating the new president.

• Jordan Wilkie/WITF
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 BLAINE SHAHAN | Staff Photographer / LNP | LancasterOnline

Pennsylvania’s electors take their Oath of Office during a meeting of Electors in the Electoral College in the House Of Representatives chamber of the Pennsylvania Capitol Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 to cast their votes for president and vice president in the 2024 election.

Pennsylvania’s 19 Republican electors submitted ballots in support of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg.

The largely ceremonial vote brings the country one step closer to a nationwide congressional certification in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6.

“ Working together with Pennsylvanians of all backgrounds, building an unprecedented coalition, we delivered a victory for the 45th and soon to be 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Lawrence Tabas, chair of the Pennsylvania GOP and presiding president of the electors, said on the floor of the state House.

Electors in every state and the District of Columbia cast their presidential ballots Tuesday, with 312 slated to back Trump and 226 supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, in line with the states and districts each won in the Nov. 5 general election. 

The vote in the state House was held with minimal pomp or circumstance and lasted just over an hour. Gov. Josh Shapiro was scheduled to address the electors but missed the proceeding due to weather conditions that prevented his plane from Philadelphia from landing in Harrisburg. His presence was not required to certify the vote.

Patricia Poprik, of Doylestown, who is vice president of the state’s electors, spoke alongside Tabas. Both praised Trump’s politics, especially his foreign policies meant to create “peace through strength” and his push to secure U.S. borders. 

Pennsylvania’s electoral votes must now be transmitted to the president of the Senate and the United States archivist no later than the fourth Wednesday in December, which this year lands on Christmas Day. The Constitution dictates the schedule, which includes Congress certifying the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6.

The congressional certification will run in accordance with new rules established in the Electoral Count Act, which was amended in 2022 to prevent the kinds of disruptions brought by Republican legislators who attempted to block certification of the 2020 election results.

Poprik also spoke of the importance of the Electoral College, addressing a longstanding movement once supported by Richard Nixon to amend the U.S. Constitution and move the presidential election to a popular vote.

“ There has been talk that the Electoral College should go away and let the popular vote win, and I say to you, I will fight that as long as I’m breathing,” Poprik said. 

Five of Pennsylvania’s electors this year were part of an effort to keep Trump in office in 2020. William Bachenberg, Bernadette Comfort, Ash Khare, Patricia Poprik and Andrew Reilly were among Republicans who submitted their names to the National Archives as “alternate” electors in a plan to overturn the state’s electoral vote. 

Unlike similar fake electors in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, the Pennsylvania Republicans were not charged with any crimes.

Trump won both the national popular vote and the Electoral College this year and is scheduled to be inaugurated at noon Jan. 20.

The electors 

When voters cast ballots for president and vice president, they are actually casting votes for the state’s delegates to the Electoral College. Pennsylvania’s 3,543,308 votes for Trump and Vance went to the slate of electors chosen to represent the Republican Party. Those individuals are then certified by the governor based on the state’s popular vote results, and they meet to cast votes in the Electoral College.

The following are Pennsylvania’s 2024 Republican electors: 

William “Bill” Bachenberg, Allentown

Vallerie Biancaniello, Broomall

Curt Coccodrilli, Jefferson Township

Bernadette Comfort, Fogelsville

Robert Gleason, Johnstown

Joyce Haas, State College

Fred Keller, Middleburg

Ash Khare, Warren

JonDavid Longo, Slippery Rock

Robin Medeiros, Clarks Summit

Rochelle Pasquariello, Lehighton

Patricia Poprik, Doylestown

Andrew Reilly, Media

Carol “Lynne” Ryan, New Castle

Carla Sands, Camp Hill

James “Jim” Vasilko, Johnstown

T. Lynette Villano, West Pittston

Christine Wilkins, East Stroudsburg/Analomink

Lawrence J. Tabas (alternate elector)

Tabas replaced Samuel “Jim” Worthington of Newtown as an elector and president of the Electoral College. Worthington was not able to attend, as he and his wife were expecting the birth of their child.

Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.

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