Pressure ramping up on Utah electors to ditch Trump; voters like Electoral College

Utah's electors are getting more pressure from groups still trying to scuttle the election of Donald Trump, but the intense lobbying seems to be having little effect on the virtually inevitable outcome of the race.

On Wednesday, the group Democracy and Progress ran a full-page ad in The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News, as well as in The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Austin American-Statesman and Tampa Bay Times, urging electors to ditch Trump and cast their votes for someone else when they meet Monday.

The open letter spells out a series of reasons they should abandon Trump — from threats to various faiths to his cozy ties with Russia and a "reckless disregard for diplomacy" — and argues that "you, Electors, possess the power to prevent this outcome."

"State law notwithstanding, you are free to vote your conscience," the letter reads. "You have a mandate, like all officials, to protect and defend the Constitution. And you have a right and responsibility to investigate those who stand for this office, and to deliberate before casting your vote."

Read more: www.sltrib.com/news/4713296-155/pressure-ramping-up-on-utah-electors