As expected, all seven of Connecticut's presidential electors cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton for president and Tim Kaine for vice president in a ceremony at the state Capitol on Monday.
Electors wrote down their choices on an index sized ballot, and placed the ballot in the old Charter Oak ballot box.
The ceremony in the state Senate Chamber was steeped in tradition, including the use of a small wood ballot box, supposedly made of wood from Connecticut's legendary Charter Oak.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill gave those in attendance a brief history lesson on the electoral process, which she called a "quirk of American democracy."
"Our votes go to a small group of people called electors as set forth in Article Two of the United States Constitution," said Merrill. "These electors cast their votes for the state's winning candidate."
Connecticut has seven electors, one for each member of the state's congressional delegation.
Connecticut's electoral chair, Democratic state Representative Bob Godfrey, called his participation in the electoral college the highlight of his political career. But he admitted that "it's the first position that I would be delighted to do away with, and go to a direct election of president of the United States, as we do for every other elected official."
And with that, Godfrey instructed the electors to cast their ballots for president and vice president. As the Hidden Manna Gospel Choir sang "God Bless America," the electors wrote down their choices on an index sized ballot, and placed the ballot in the old Charter Oak ballot box.
As expected, Hillary Clinton was chosen for president on a 7-0 vote. Her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, also received all seven votes.
Still, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to win the overall Electoral College. The results will be certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2017.
