This article was published on December 2, 2016

‘Make Hillary Clinton president’ is now the biggest online petition in Change.org history


‘Make Hillary Clinton president’ is now the biggest online petition in Change.org history Image by: NBC News / YouTube

It has been a little over three weeks since Donald Trump edged out Hillary Clinton to become the new President-elect of the US, but millions of people still refuse to accept the outcome of the election.

A petition urging electors of the Electoral College to cast their ballots for Clinton instead of President-elect Trump has amassed over 4.6 million signatures on Change.org, becoming the most signed campaign in the history of the platform.

Titled ‘Make Hillary Clinton President,’ the petition argues that, as the winner of the popular vote, the Democrat should be the next President of the US. It goes on to label Trump “unfit to serve” and calls electors of the Electoral College to “ignore their states’ votes and cast their ballots for Secretary Clinton.”

Ironically, Trump himself has previously been critical of the Electoral College too, deeming the system a “disaster for democracy” in a tweet from 2012.

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Here’s a selection from the campaign:

On December 19, the Electors of the Electoral College will cast their ballots. If they all vote the way their states voted, Donald Trump will win. However, in 14 of the states in Trump’s column, they can vote for Hillary Clinton without any legal penalty if they choose.

Hillary won the popular vote. The only reason Trump “won” is because of the Electoral College.

But the Electoral College can actually give the White House to either candidate. So why not use this most undemocratic of our institutions to ensure a democratic result?

The petition, started by social worker Daniel Brezenoff, first appeared on Change.org on November 10, but has since accumulated over two million users more than the second largest campaign on the website, which dates back three years.

For those wondering why people continue to protest the result of the election, here’s the thing: Trump’s victory in the election doesn’t guarantee his preisdency. The New York Times has released a detailed breakdown of how the Electoral College actually works, but essentially Clinton could still become the new commander in chief.

Historically, however, the odds are stacked against the Democrat. According to FactCheck, electors of the Electoral College have previously opted not to vote for the candidate they’re pledged to, but this has never affected the final outcome of an entire presidential election.

As is often the case, online petitions rarely lead to actual change and this is probably the fate this campaign will follow too – much like the remainder of the 6,200 plus other Trump-related petitions stacked on Change.org.

via CNET

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