'We'll stand firm,' say GOP electors

Despite the all-out efforts of Electoral College critics and Democrat
activists, Republican members of the constitutionally established body
are circling the wagons around their party's soon-to-be official
president-elect.

Even electors suspected of breaking ranks with their party have
publicly declared their loyalty to President-elect George W. Bush,
saying no amount of pressure by popular-vote proponents will change
their minds.

And there has been a lot of pressure put on Republican electors.
Matt Grossmann, deputy director of

VoteWithAmerica.com -- an effort to urge Bush electors to vote for Vice President Al Gore -- said his webpage listing contact information for Republican electors had been visited 30,000 times between midnight Thursday and 2 p.m. yesterday. And while that number could encompass multiple visits by one person, it shows that elector-swaying is a popular activity of late.

Likwise, an official at the Maricopa County sheriff's office in Arizona said yesterday that Sheriff Joe Arpaio had received around 100 calls since 8 a.m. that day. Arpaio is one of four electors heavily lobbied by Electoral College critics. He had previously made public statements indicating he might change his mind and vote for Gore.

"I suppose some people could be concerned because I am a little controversial and independent," Arpaio told the Philadelphia Inquirer last month. The same Sheriff Arpaio of

"pink underwear and green
bologna" fame, the elector noted that he "broke ranks" with fellow Arizona Republicans and endorsed Bush instead of favorite son John McCain in the GOP primary. Arpaio reminded the Inquirer that Arizona's electors are not bound by law to support a fellow party member in the presidential vote.

Noting Gore's popular-vote lead, the sheriff added, "Maybe we ought to consider him." But Arpaio has since changed his tune and is now singing strongly in the pro-Bush choir.

"Bush came here and asked me for an endorsement, and I gave it to him. So, why would I break from Bush? So come Monday, I will cast my vote for George W., come Monday at 2 o'clock, Phoenix time," Arpaio told CNSNews.com.

Another of the four targeted electors is Virginian Frances Sadler, whose answering machine plays this recording: "If you are calling about the Electoral College, I am casting my vote for George W. Bush. If you are calling to change my mind, you are wasting your time."

In a WorldNetDaily interview Tuesday, Oklahoma elector Steve Byas said members of the Republican Party "don't just nominate anybody to be an elector candidate, because you don't want 'faithless' electors." Oklahoma lists electors by name on the ballot -- as opposed to other states that simply list each party's presidential nominee. Faithless electors in Oklahoma could be slapped with a $1,000 fine, though history records no faithless elector ever having been punished.

About half of the nation's states allow electors to break party ranks without penalty, though such a phenomenon has only happened seven times in the 20th century.

In his earlier remarks on the Florida Supreme Court's decision to extend the state's election deadline, Gore distanced himself from attempts to sway electoral votes, saying: "I completely disavow any effort to persuade electors to switch their support from the candidate to whom they are pledged. I will not accept the support of any elector pledged to Governor Bush."

Nevertheless, Democrat political strategist Bob Beckel has said he would "respectfully" ignore the vice president's request and continue to try to sway electors.

"I'm trying to kidnap electors in states that he won that are not legally bound to him that have a right to vote how they want to," he told Fox News' Brit Hume. "And I want to put in front of them the facts about why Bush will be the first modern president not elected to the office."

However, two of Beckel's top staffers, Ben Chao and Bud Jackson, have now resigned from

Bob Beckel & Associates over their boss's attempts to influence Republican electors, United Press International reported yesterday.

"Beckel is compiling a report he will send, or may have already sent, to Republican electors on voting patterns, allegations of fraud in the election" and other political and demographic information about the 2000 election, said UPI.

The letter, Chao noted, will include "an editorial comment from him reminding the electors they have the option of abstaining from voting in the Electoral College."

"He is not doing background checks or opposition research on electors," Chao insisted, adding that "the report he is going to send them is the only communication he has had or will have with electors." This contradicts statements made by Beckel himself in a Fox News Channel interview in which he told host Neil Cavuto he had already talked to "over a hundred" friends in the various Bush-majority states to enlist their help in persuading even two electors to switch their votes.

After Gore campaign chairman Bill Daley and adviser Warren Christopher both publicly disavowed Beckel's effort in the wake of a firestorm of publicity and criticism, Beckel softened his rhetoric, claiming he intended merely to pass on information to Bush electors.

"I urged [Beckel] not to send the report," Chao told UPI. "He told me 'Ben, this is something I have to do.'"

Beckel did not respond to multiple e-mail and phone requests over several days from WorldNetDaily asking for clarification of his position.

Depending on the nature of their contact with electors, Beckel and others working to persuade electors to change their votes could be in violation of federal law if their persuasion tactics enter the realm of "intimidation."

U.S. Code Title 42, Section 1971 states: "No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives, Delegates or Commissioners from the Territories or possessions, at any general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing any such candidate."

Commenting on another similar statute,

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said determining whether an action is a violation of such federal laws "would be very case-specific." A letter asking someone to reconsider their vote is "very different" than a letter making threats, he said. "It's illegal to intimidate anyone," Fitton added.

At least one group is actively encouraging Republican electors to stick with the GOP's man.

SupportOurElectors.com says efforts to influence Bush-pledged electors are wrong.

"A majority of the members of the Electoral College have pledged their vote to Gov. George W. Bush. Despite the fact that Gov. Bush overwhelmingly won the state-by-state popular votes, Democratic activists have been attempting to persuade certain electors to change their vote. This is wrong!" the group says. "Voters in 30 states selected these electors with the belief that they would cast their votes for Gov. Bush. Democratic activists have been bombarding these electors with letters, faxes and e-mails, encouraging them to vote for Al Gore. If only three Bush electors change their vote, Al Gore will become our next president. We cannot allow this to happen!"

The group encourages visitors to sign a petition urging electors to vote for their party's candidate. It states simply: "I support the 271 Republican members of the Electoral College, and I urge them to honor their pledges and vote for Gov. George W. Bush."

Come what may, electors of both parties meet in just two days at state capitols across the nation to cast their votes for president and vice president of the United States. Elected by popular vote in their respective states, they are politicians and fund-raisers, homemakers and activists. And regardless of their political persuasion, they were nominated by party members because of their loyalty, making crossover votes unlikely.

While media outlets are able to report results of the Electoral College vote right away since they are present at the time of the vote, the official tally will be taken on Jan. 6, when, in his capacity as president of the Senate, the votes will officially and ceremonially be read by -- Al Gore.

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