I'm going to give this to you straight: There is a way Hillary Clinton can still become president, but the chances of it happening are extremely slim.
Let me explain.
Clinton won the popular vote by 200,000, but Donald Trump dominated the electoral vote by 290 to Clinton's 228. A candidate must receive 270 electoral votes in order to win.
However, the result isn't officially locked down until members of the Electoral College get together and cast their ballots on December 19.
So what?
Basically, individual electors have the power to go against the electoral state vote.
Say you're a big dog from Pennsylvania and don't like the fact your state turned red at the end of election night. You can cast a vote for Hillary, or abstain from voting.
These people are called "faithless electors."
According to FairVote, there have been 157 faithless electors since the electoral college was founded.
Of these 157, 82 electors changed their vote because of personal preference, three dropped their vote because they didn't like any candidate and 71 changed their vote because the original candidate died before the day the college cast its ballots.
Does that mean Hillary Clinton has a chance?
Absolutely — but a very slim chance.
Though there have been faithless electors in the past, all of them have failed to have an impact on the outcome of the election.
This gloomy prediction hasn't stopped Clinton supporters from clinging to that last piece of hope.
A petition has emerged on Change.org encouraging electors to cast their vote for Clinton on December 19.
Part of the petition reads,
On December 19, the electors of the electoral college will cast their ballots. If they all vote the way their states voted, Donald Trump will win. However, they can vote for Hillary Clinton if they choose. Even in states where that is not allowed, their vote would still be counted, they would simply pay a small fine — which we can be sure Clinton supporters will be glad to pay!
It continues,
We are calling on the Electors to ignore their states' votes and cast their ballots for Secretary Clinton. Why? Mr. Trump is unfit to serve. His scapegoating of so many Americans, and his impulsivity, bullying, lying, admitted history of sexual assault and utter lack of experience make him a danger to the Republic.
Thousands of people are signing the petition, but a huge question mark hangs over how much of an impact this will have.
Citations: New York Post, Change.org, Fair Vote
