Good morning and welcome to Monday. Today is the day groups meet in 50 state Capitols to actually cast the ballots to elect the president. Here’s the Digest:
1. Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes will go to Hillary Clinton, who narrowly defeated Donald Trump here in the November election. One Minnesota elector says she had hoped to be casting a vote for the first woman president, but she still has faith in the electoral system. (MPR News)
2. Donald Trump will win the election when today’s votes are counted in the U.S. House Chamber on January 6, but Hillary Clinton’s popular vote win margin of more than 2.8 million votes and Russian interference in the election are once again bringing attention to the Electoral College system. Here’s a rundown of how it works. (New York Times)
3. Some electors say they’ve gotten death threats, hate mail and harassing calls in the wake of the contentious election. Much of the pressure is coming from people opposed to Trump who want them to switch their votes to Clinton or someone else. Republicans are contacting some of them to ensure they stay loyal to Trump. (Politico)
4. After all the debate and gridlock over a transportation funding plan in Minnesota over the past few years, President-elect Trump is promising a major infrastructure rebuilding program. Trump’s transition team has pitched a model that would draw private investment in exchange for tax breaks, with the understanding that some of the projects would generate revenue. The idea has some people excited about the hope for bipartisan deals and other people worried. (Star Tribune)
5.The police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile at a traffic stop in July is set to make his second appearance in Ramsey County District Court Monday. Jeronimo Yanez faces a second-degree manslaughter charge in Castile’s death - and two other felony charges for firing a weapon while Castile’s girlfriend and her daughter were in the car.Yanez’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the charges last week, saying there’s not enough probable cause. (MPR News)
