A Houston native was among Missouri’s 10 electoral college voters when the group assembled Tuesday in Jefferson City.
State members of the Electoral College met at the state Capitol to cast their votes for president and vice president. They were bound to vote in accordance with the state results of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Among them was Tom Salisbury, who grew up in Houston and is a 1970 HHS alumnus. His parents were Fred and Mary Ellen Salisbury. Salisbury’s career includes many years of public service, including as an aide to Roy Blunt, who served as a U.S. House and Senate member during a long career before retiring. Salisbury also served a stint as a regional administrator overseeing the Small Business Administration in the Midwest. Later, Salisbury worked as county administrator in Clay County government at Liberty.
Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, secured 1,751,986 votes in Missouri, granting the Republican ticket all 10 of Missouri’s electoral votes. More than 58 percent of voters opted for Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee who garnered about 40 percent of the state’s popular vote.
Gathered in the Senate Lounge, 10 electors cast their ballots for Trump. Their ballots were sealed in envelopes, then immediately opened by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and counted.
“After counting the votes, I’m happy to say that zero votes went to Kamala Harris,” Ashcroft said. “That wasn’t in the script, but I wanted to say it.”
“All 10 electoral votes from the state of Missouri go to the former and about-to-be-once-again president of the United States Donald J. Trump and Vice President candidate J.D. Vance,” he continued.
The Electoral College members then signed six certificates of the vote. The certificates proceed to the Missouri State Archives, the national archivist, the president of the U.S. Senate and Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem.
The certificates sent to the U.S. Senate will be opened and tallied during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 and act as Missouri’s official votes for president and vice president.
Tuesday’s electors consisted of one representative from each of Missouri’s eight congressional districts and two at-large electors. Salisbury represented the 5th Congressional District.
