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CHARLESTON -- Five West Virginians including Gov. Jim Justice cast the state's five electoral votes for Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on Monday as the Electoral College met across the country, giving Democrat Joe Biden the majority of electoral votes.
"This is a casting of our electoral votes in West Virginia," Justice said. "Today we are fulfilling our civic duty to our country. It is a very important event."
Justice, Lewis Rexroad of Wood County, Beth Bloch of Kanawha County, Paul Hartling of Putnam County, and Gary Duncan of Jefferson County met Monday at the Capitol to cast the electoral votes.
The event was virtually held with Justice signing his ballot from the Governor's Reception Room and the four other electors signing their ballots in the Governor's Cabinet and Conference Room. The event was presided over by Secretary of State Mac Warner with state Republican Party Chairwoman Melody Potter and the spouses of the electors present. It was not open to the press due to COVID-19 restrictions.
West Virginia gets five electoral votes due to the state's three congressional districts and two U.S. Senators. It is likely the last time the state will cast five votes, with most demographics experts predicting the state will lose a congressional district due to population decreases when the results of the most recent U.S. Census are released.
West Virginia's slate of electors is selected by both the Republican and Democratic parties. The selection of the state's choice for president is done by popular vote, with the winner receiving the elector slate chosen by the prevailing political party.
While state law doesn't prohibit electors from not voting for the selected candidate, electors typically sign an oath with their political party to support the winning presidential candidate.
West Virginians overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2020. Trump carried the state with 68.63 percent of the vote on Nov. 3, the same percentage Trump won the state in 2016.
According to official results from the Secretary of State for the 2020 general election, Trump defeated Biden, a former vice president, 545,382 to 235,984 in West Virginia. The Mountain State was one of 26 states that supported Trump, giving him 232 electoral votes.
However, 24 states plus the District of Columbia gave Biden 306 electoral votes, giving him more than enough electoral votes to become the next president of the United States. Biden also won the popular vote by 51.4 percent to Trump's 46.9 percent. Biden received more than 81 million votes, while Trump received more than 74 million votes.
The next step comes on Jan. 6 when a joint session of Congress will meet to tally the Electoral College ballots and the winner of the 2020 presidential election will be announced. Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
The Trump campaign and third-party Trump supporters have launched more than 50 lawsuits, mostly in battleground states that control a large number of electoral votes and saw wins for Biden. Nearly all have been thrown out by state and federal courts, including by Trump-appointed judges, because Trump lawyers have yet to prove any allegations of election fraud.
The most recent lawsuit, brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton along with 17 states including West Virginia and 126 Republican members of Congress, including 2nd District Rep. Alex Mooney and 3rd District Rep. Carol Miller of West Virginia, was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals on Friday evening.
Texas filed suit last week against the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan, alleging changes made to those state's election laws and procedures during the coronavirus pandemic violated federal law and made it harder to find the voter fraud alleged in previous Trump lawsuits. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case, issuing a one-page ruling that said Texas had no standing to challenge how other states select their electors.
The lawsuit was supported by Justice, Warner and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Warner attended a traveling Stop the Steal rally Wednesday evening at the Capitol.