Garden City man and Electoral College elector, says he's been pressured over vote

GARDEN CITY, Mich. (WJBK) - Efforts are underway to convince members of the Electoral College to change their vote from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton when they head to Washington, D.C. next month.

FOX 2 is speaking with one of the 16 people who will represent Michigan - and he says he's been pressured, too.

Michigan casts 16 electoral votes for president. Jim Rhoades of Garden City is one of only 16 people in Michigan who make up the state's Republican Electors. Jim represents the Electoral College and will confirm his people's choice.

"The job of an elector is to cast his vote representing the congressional district," says Rhoades. "Mine being the 13th in favor of the party that won the election, that being the Republicans and Donald Trump."

A builder by trade, Jim Rhoades previously campaigned with then-President George Bush and is a lifelong conservative. He was a Michigan Precinct Delegate who won a vote by Republicans to serve as elector.

He'll go to Lansing in December to vote and ratify Donald Trump's Michigan victory.

"We go up there for a day," Rhoades says. "We have a meeting. They choose someone to represent the state for the group and they go to Washington, D.C. I'm hoping to try and finagle my way into that."

FOX 2: "That could be you."

"Yeah that would be really cool," he says.

Voters in Michigan actually cast their ballots for electors; they are representatives to the Electoral College.  Rhoades is well aware that some people are trying to get electors to change their vote, but that would be illegal.

"No it would not be legal," he says. "And if I were to vote for another candidate, say the Libertarian candidate, I could be removed as the elector and replaced with someone who would agree to do what the party dictates. And the Democratic party does the same."