Friends,
In Federalist No. 68, Alexander Hamilton wrote that the members of the Electoral College must be those “most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.” I have no reason to doubt that this description applies to the electors that South Carolina selected on November 8: Glenn McCall of York County, Matt Moore of Lexington County, Terry Hardesty of Berkeley County, Jim Ulmer of Orangeburg County, Brenda Bedenbaugh of Saluda County, Bill Conley of Spartanburg County, Shery Smith of Sumter County, Moye Graham of Clarendon County, and Jerry Rovner of Georgetown County.
Hamilton was particularly worried about “the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils” by “raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union.” Explaining the specific methods of by which this might be accomplished—methods that the Electoral College was designed to prevent—Hamilton worried that other groups of voters might be “tampered with beforehand.” Regrettably, the CIA has reportedly concluded that Russia engaged in espionage with the intent of tampering with voters so that they would favor Donald Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It is therefore clear that for our electors to analyze, deliberate, and choose judiciously, they must be fully informed of all intelligence pertaining to Russian interference in our election.
I ask that you join me in signing this petition calling on South Carolina’s nine electors to withhold their votes in the Electoral College until they are provided with all relevant intelligence. Failure to do so would be inconsistent with the Constitution.
Regardless of how the Electoral College votes on December 19, we are in the midst of a critical fight for the soul of our democracy. I hope you will stand strong with us in this struggle. Together, we will prevail.
Sincerely,
Jaime Harrison
Chair, South Carolina Democratic Party
