Vermont cast its three Electoral College votes Monday for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president of the United States.
Three electors chosen over the summer by the state’s Democratic party formally backed the Biden-Harris ticket following the pair’s overwhelming win in Vermont in November.
The Statehouse ceremony might not have attracted much attention in any other year. But the convening of electors in all 50 states Monday was getting lots of coverage as President Donald Trump continued his attempt to subvert results of the election.
Biden and Harris received 242,820 votes in Vermont, or 65 percent. Donald Trump and Mike Pence received 112,704 votes, or 30 percent.
The electors — state senator-elect Kesha Ram, Washington County party chair Linda Gravell and former state party chair Terje Anderson — were sworn in by Secretary of State Jim Condos, who walked them through the simple voting process.
After the electors marked their ballots and turned them in, Ram said she was “overwhelmed” to be able to cast such a historic vote. Ram said she was the first woman of color to serve as an elector in Vermont, and that she would probably process her profound emotions about the day “in waves.”
“I think that’s the only way that I can take in that we will have a woman of color in the White House and two people who are deeply committed to turning the page for this country,” Ram said.
Before driving to Montpelier for the 10 a.m. ceremony, Ram called former Vermont governor Madeleine Kunin to thank her for her work on behalf of women in politics in the state. Ram said that after Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 presidential contest, she worried that Kunin would never get to see a woman serve in the White House.
“Recognizing that we still have so many pioneers with us to celebrate this moment made me feel honored to cast this vote for them,” Ram said.
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