A Democratic member of the Electoral College broke with the party’s wishes by casting his presidential vote for a Native American activist rather than Hillary Clinton.
By winning the support of a so-called faithless elector from Washington state, Faith Spotted Eagle is reportedly the first Native American to receive a vote in the Electoral College for president. Spotted Eagle, an elder from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, has been a vocal opponent of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines.
Robert Satiacum, the Electoral College elector and a member of Washington’s Puyallup Tribe, told ABC News that he cast his ballot on Monday for Spotted Eagle because of her environmental activism
“The world is on fire, we need first responders,” Satiacum told ABC. “Faith Spotted Eagle is committed to the Earth. She is the air, she is the land and the water … she cares about my mother, your mother, this Earth.”
Washington’s 12 Democratic electors had been expected to vote for Clinton, but Satiacum was one of four to defy tradition. The other three rogue electors voted for former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Satiacum supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the Democratic Party nomination. He called Clinton a “criminal” and vowed not to back her in the Electoral College after she carried his home state on Election Day last month.