Art Sisneros of Texas is one of the electors in the famed Electoral College. He is also a Republican. That means that he signed a pledge to vote for the winner of the popular vote in his state.
This means, obviously, that Art Sisneros has signed a pledge to vote for Donald Trump when the Electoral College meets on December 19th.
But Mr. Sisneros is also a man of God. He is a Christian who believes in the true tenets of Christianity. He is a man who dealing with a terrible sense of conflict because his beliefs run so counter to the behavior of the candidate who won our Presidential election.
Mr. Sisneros is not acting out of a petty sense of superiority. He is not being glib, nor is he taking his dilemma lightly.
In a recent post on his personal blog, Sisneros wrote:
“I do not see how Donald Trump is biblically qualified to serve in the office of the Presidency. Of the hundreds of angry messages that I have received, not one has made a convincing case from scripture otherwise. If Trump is not qualified and my role, both morally and historically, as an elected official is to vote my conscience, then I can not and will not vote for Donald Trump for President. I believe voting for Trump would bring dishonor to God.”
As he wrestled with what to do about the difficult position in which he found himself, Mr. Sisneros wrote a clear and cogent summary of the history and importance of the Electoral College.
In that summary, he pointed out that the original intent of the Electoral College was to prevent the masses of the people from having control of the government. It was to make sure that the U.S. was representative republic, rather than a direct democracy.
He went on to say that the current Electoral College has been corrupted from its original intent. Now that we have “winner take all” states, electors are not free to choose the best candidate. They are told for whom they have to vote.
He also quoted Alexander Hamilton, who wrote about the electoral college. Hamilton wrote this about the Electoral College process:
“The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
You can see why Sisneros was conflicted. He had signed an oath, when he became an elector, to vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. As a Christian, he felt that he couldn’t vote for Trump. Further, he knew that a vote for Trump went against everything that Hamilton and the other founders had hoped to achieve when they constructed the electoral system.
He wrote:
“I believe to resign is to honor the intent of the pledge as it relates to the people of my district. Since I can’t in good conscience vote for Donald Trump, and yet have sinfully made a pledge that I would, the best option I see at this time is to resign my position as an Elector.”
So he has resigned as an elector and will not cast any vote on December 19. He knows that his action won’t stop Donald Trump from being elected President, but he can sleep at night knowing that he was not a part of making it happen.
Sisneros also wrote that when the vote is over:
“I will also mourn the loss of our republic.”
Art Sisneros is a man of honor and integrity. He is thoughtful, intelligent and true to his convictions.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of the electors were so honorable?
Featured image by Jim Bowen via Flickr. Available through CC BY 2.0 license.
