My Letter to the Electors by Michael Goldberg

American voters, horrified by the possibility that Donald Trump may become the President of the United States, based on the results of the election of November 8, have chosen different strategies of resistance.

Some, including our guest writer, Michael Goldberg, have written to the members of the Electoral College who cast their votes to elect the President on December 19 asking them to vote for Hillary.

While some electors are bound by the rules of their state to vote in sync with the popular vote in their state, others are free to vote as they would. For more information about the electors, who they are, how they are chosen on a state by state basis, you may want to read more about the Electoral College here, or find your own electors state by state here or write to the College here.

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Michael Goldberg's letter.


I have never before been afraid to live in the United States. I have always been proud to live here and I have always believed that we are a strong, tolerant, and united nation. On November 8, 2016, I became heartbroken to admit that changed.

Please do not disregard this letter and cast it aside to be just another in your inbox. This letter, I feel, is the only voice I have in this election - other than my vote. I am asking you, as an elector of the college, to please put politics and partisanship aside for the sake of those you strive to protect.

On November 8th, I, along with over 62 million of our fellow citizens, cast their votes for Hillary Clinton to be President of the United States. I personally voted for Hillary not only out of respect and admiration for her, but because I truly believed (and still believe) that she was the only one in this election who would stand up and fight for me. To fight for my community. To fight for my rights not only as a human being, but as an American citizen.

I voted for her because she has dedicated her life to public service. I voted for her because she has proven throughout the years that she is ready and deserving of the highest office in the land. An office that plays such a critical role to America's standing in the world. An office that one must work for, understand, and be immensely qualified to handle the great challenges it faces. I strongly believe there is only one candidate who fits that bill.

I, like you, spent what felt like an eternity throughout this election watching news coverage, attending rallies, researching the internet, watching debates, and conversing with countless people over the candidates' words and positions. I read endless endorsements from newspapers, economic advisers, past Presidents - not one of which spoke favorably of Donald Trump.

I have been terrified at the rhetoric coming out of Donald Trump's own mouth and out of his rallies. I don't have to re-iterate all of these comments to you. I'm confident that you are aware.

Instead, I ask that you put yourself in the shoes of each and every person he has insulted and discriminated against. I ask that you question whether this is the America you have come to love. Whether this is the America we have told the world we are. Whether this is the America our founding fathers intended to create.

If the America you envision and believe that our forefathers wanted was one that includes blatant racism, segregation, sexism, and homophobia, then you don't need to read any further. If you are like me and imagine an America that is inclusive and tolerant of everyone, that celebrates the advances immigrants have afforded us, and that rejects bigotry, then I implore you to keep reading.

I am a 29 year old gay man living in Massachusetts. I hope that those words haven't suddenly changed your opinion on this letter - because my sexual identity shouldn't be of importance to others. I am heartbroken to see that my fear or intolerance has spread during and since the election. It has spread like a viral disease throughout the country and that is how Donald Trump became the President-elect on November 8th. He didn't create these people. He simply awakened terrible biases and prejudices inside them that we thought we put behind us. Biases we still can put behind us if only we had a leader that fought against it. I feel very lucky to live here in Massachusetts, with friends who are also gay, with other family members who are gay.

Even though I feel lucky to live here, the fear is still very much there. Even here in this liberal state, I don't feel accepted everywhere. My partner and I always had it in the backs of our minds that we should be careful to hold hands in public. Just when we thought we had been acting paranoid to feel nervous to do something heterosexual couples don't think twice about, the election happened.

We started hearing people become more vocal about their intolerance of gay people and other minority groups. The result of the election and the hate we have seen in just the short time since, we now know that sadly we were absolutely correct to have felt that nervous, and our fear has increased exponentially.

Don't you find it alarming the types of people Trump has turned to for appointments to cabinet positions? Steve Bannon who led a racially charged, white nationalist website with disgusting and inflammatory headlines?

Michael Flynn who has either fallen for completely bogus news articles related to Hillary Clinton or knew they were false and still spread them anyway? We really want a national security adviser who knowingly spread lies about someone else? Or worse, believed falsehoods so easily? Perhaps worse than all of those (and Trump) is Mike Pence. A man who signed it into law that people could be fined $1,500 and face jail time for "lying" on an application for marriage. An application that LGBT's could never accurately be able to fill out because it did not recognize that a man might be marrying another man, or a woman to a woman. A man who thinks it's acceptable to have religion in government. Who thinks it's acceptable to deny service to LGBT people or anyone simply because it may infringe on their religious beliefs. A man who believes that I, or others in the LGBT community could simply undergo conversion therapy or electrotherapy to "cure" us of our homosexuality. We have nothing to be cured from. I ask you to please think of us as a brother, or a sister, or a daughter, or a son of yours. Is this how you would want them to be treated? All of this is not only unprecedented, it is a new low in American history. You are the only ones who have the power to stop it.

I am pleading with you to help me and millions of other Americans not live in this fear. This isn't just about me being part of the LGBT community. I also fear for those in minority groups, or those who are Muslim, or who are Hispanic, who fear for their lives and safety in what is supposed to be the greatest country on earth. How did we let ourselves get this far? Not everyone is lucky enough to live in Massachusetts.

There are many states out there not nearly as tolerant as we are, and if even I am having difficulty in my state, I can't imagine living in a red state. I have heard and read the horror stories on what is happening in our great country since the election. I have cried thinking of how terrified people genuinely are. How powerless they feel. What can they do? This is the reason for my letter.

You hold the power. You hold the ability to display heroic actions on December 19th and take critical steps to heal our nation and help us back on the path and values our nation was founded on. I am asking you to cast your electoral vote for Hillary Clinton on December 19th. If you are concerned about financial penalties, I can promise you will have the financial support.

We didn't raise a billion dollars for Hillary to leave a few thousand dollars on someone else's back. I have to believe that in your heart of hearts, you do not support the hatred that is spreading across our country. I have to believe that you will not encourage intolerance. I have to believe this. It is my only hope.

I recognize that what I am asking you to do is monumental. But while it is monumental, it is also fairly simple. On December 19th, you have a choice.

You can choose to cast your vote for someone who is overwhelmingly viewed as highly unqualified for the presidency. You can cast your vote for someone who has insulted and belittled millions of Americans. You can cast your vote for someone who is the first President-elect in history to settle a lawsuit for fraud for $25 million after being elected. Someone with a history of legal troubles. Or you can cast your vote for the candidate the majority of Americans supported on November 8th. You can cast your vote for the will of the people. You can cast your vote for Hillary Clinton. She has earned more than 2 million more votes from citizens of our great country. You can prove to the majority of the Americans why we have a system like the Electoral College in place. You can prove that we can still be the greatest nation in the world. You can provide comfort and inspire hope to millions of people who are currently living in fear watching the beginnings of a Trump administration. You can help ease the pain of LGBT communities who are now dialing suicide hotlines at alarming rates. People are looking for help. I beg you to be the help they desperately need. For if we don't have each other, we have nothing at all.

Lastly, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and for being such a major part of our political process. A part that many people do not understand. I hope that you will show them that the electoral college does not just stand to be a rubber stamp on the results of November 8th. I hope you will show someone in Wyoming that their voice counts just as much as someone who lives in Florida. I hope you will join the few members of the electoral college who have refused to vote for Donald Trump and show the world that the majority of Americans deserve to have their voices heard and their votes counted. We voted for Hillary Clinton on November 8th, and we may have to endure Donald Trump. I hope you will think of the vast number of people in our country who will be unable to survive the next four years, for I can promise you, they are out there. They need help. They need you. Thank you for your time.

Michael Goldberg

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November 24, 2016 Thanksgiving Day.

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