New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that New York’s state electors will vote in person on Monday in Albany.
“We’re actually going to have to convene people in the Capitol in the midst of this situation,” Cuomo said in an interview, according to LoHud. “It’s not a large group, but you can’t do it virtually, or we don’t believe, legally, you can do it virtually.”
“By law, the electors must convene in the state Capitol,” he added. “It doesn’t say, ‘except if you have a global pandemic.’”
Prominent New York state Democratic electors include former President Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton, according to the New York State Board of Elections (pdf). It also lists Cuomo, former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and current Council Speaker Corey Johnson, among others, as Democratic electors.
Hillary Clinton revealed in late October she is an elector for the state. Meanwhile, former President Clinton said he was a New York elector in 2016 and voted for his wife in her losing presidential bid. The Clintons live in Westchester County, located north of New York City.
“For our electoral votes to be indisputable, it’s probably worth going the extra mile,” western New York elector Judith Hunter, chair of the Livingston County Democratic Committee and the state Democratic Rural Conference, told the website. According to New York’s government website, election law stipulates that “electors shall convene at the state capitol,” which is Albany.
The New York electors—along with electors in other states—are slated to vote on Monday, Dec. 14.
“This would not be the year to mess around with the Electoral College,” Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic chairman, told LoHud. “Given the year, given the time, given the circumstance and who we’re dealing with, I think we should do it just as it was originally thought of to be done.”
