AUGUSTA, Maine — A Democratic Maine elector’s vote for US Sen. Bernie Sanders was ruled improper Monday and he switched his vote to Hillary Clinton.
Earlier in the day, it appeared that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was going to get at least one of Maine’s four electoral votes.
Democratic elector David Bright originally said he’d vote for Sanders only under the unlikely scenario in which Republican President-elect Donald Trump failed to get the necessary 270 votes.
But he said Monday he intends to vote for Sanders anyway to acknowledge the efforts of the young supporters of Sanders, who beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in Maine’s presidential caucuses.
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That means Clinton would get two votes to one apiece for Sanders and for Trump.
Trump won the 2nd Congressional District to get one vote.
In Maine, presidential electors are required to vote for the popular vote winner. But there’s no penalty if an elector chooses to vote for a different candidate.