Utah elector talks about voting in the Electoral College
Dec 14, 2020, 9:58 AM
File" Former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, is one of the six electors participating in the Electoral College vote today on behalf of Utah. (Spenser Heaps / KSL)
(Spenser Heaps / KSL)
The Electoral College casts votes Monday, and the six Utah electors will cast the state’s votes for President Donald Trump.
The Utah role in the Electoral College
We have six electors because we have six members in the federal delegation: two senators and four congressmen.
They are selected at the state party conventions. The state Republican party selected six, and the state democratic party selected six.
Because the majority of Utahns voted for President Trump in the Nov. 3, 2020 election, the Republican party sends their electors to the state capitol for the vote.
One of our state electors this time is former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes.
“These are not secret ballots. People know how we are voting,” he said.
Electors can’t deviate from the script
He pointed out how in 2016, people talked about the “faithless elector,” who theoretically would cast their vote for someone else instead of how their state voted. But Utah law does not allow an elector to vote for anyone they like in the Electoral College count.
Hughes says the Electoral College ensures every state will count.
“If you didn’t have the Electoral College, many states would be the flyover states and never heard from again,” he said.
Hughes says he is allowed to bring only one guest to witness this moment of history, and it will either be his wife or his daughter who helped him during his gubernatorial campaign.
“It’s an honor to be a part of history,” Hughes said.
Utah Policy says the other five electors are Sean Reyes, Kris Udy, Jimi Kestin, Chris Herrod and Trent Christensen.
Related: How does the Electoral College work?
