Today I had the opportunity to attend a ceremony at the Capitol to watch Idaho’s four electors cast their votes for President and Vice President of the United States of America.
As you surely know, America does not elect its presidents via the popular vote. Each state is apportioned a number of electors equal to the number of representatives and senators, meaning larger states have more electors while smaller states have fewer. Idaho has four, and has had four since the 1910 census. This system ensures that every state has a voice in choosing our nation’s highest executive.
Our Founding Fathers debated many issues as they drafted the Constitution, and had to make many compromises between small states and large states. One of those compromises was the Electoral College. Without this system, presidential candidates would spend their time running up the count in highly populated areas such as Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago, neglecting more rural and suburban areas.
Originally, electors were chosen by state legislatures or governors. Today, they are chosen by the people. Two states — Maine and Nebraska — award one electoral vote to the winner of each of that state’s district, and the rest to the winner of the statewide popular vote, while the remaining 48 states are winner-take-all.
When we cast our ballots last month, we did not vote directly for Donald Trump for president. Instead we voted for four people — Brent Regan, Jean Mollenkopf-Moore, Doyle Beck, and Vicki Keen — who had been chosen by the Idaho Republican Party to cast our state’s electoral votes on our behalf.
Today, all four electors convened in the Lincoln Auditorium to do just that. For the third consecutive election, Idaho’s four electoral votes were cast for Donald J. Trump.
In opening the ceremony, Secretary of State Phil McGrane read from his pocket Constitution, a gift handwritten and given to him by his father when he took office two years ago. He read part of the 12th Amendment, which after the convoluted election of 1800 clarified how the Electoral College was meant to work:
The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States.
Each of Idaho’s four electors spoke briefly about the gravity of the situation before casting their votes for Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. The official ballots will be sealed and carried to Washington DC where they will be opened by Vice President Kamala Harris as she presides over a Joint Session of Congress to certify the votes of the Electoral College on January 6, 2025.
It was a wonderful event, and I’m thankful to Secretary McGrane and Idaho GOP chair Dorothy Moon for making it possible. Prior to the votes being cast, Moon spoke about the importance of the Electoral College and each of the four electors shared their experiences at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past summer.
House Speaker Mike Moyle shared an interesting historical note: The first election in which Idaho cast electoral votes was 1892, giving them to Populist Party candidate James Weaver. The winner that year was Democrat Grover Cleveland, who was the first person to win two nonconsecutive terms as president. Today, Idaho cast its votes for Donald Trump, who is now the second person to achieve the same feat.
There is something ineffable about taking part in ancient traditions. The United States of America remains a relatively young nation, nevertheless we retain rituals and traditions that date back to the founding of our country. On February 4, 1789, electors from ten states met to cast their votes for George Washington. Today, in the same manner, electors from all fifty states — including Idaho — cast their votes as well.
I remarked to Secretary McGrane after the ceremony that had the election gone the other way, then our four electors would still have been required to do their duty, but it would not have been nearly as fun. I believe that Trump’s election on November 5 breathed new life into this country, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Events like today’s are a reminder of our history and the promise of our future.
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About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
