To the electors,

There is nothing we can say to you that has not already been said by someone else, somewhere else. We know that you have been barraged with emails, letters, open letters, editorials, and phone calls to your homes. We know that some of you have been threatened and harassed. We do not want to contribute to that here, and we don’t know what we could do at this point to distinguish our letter from the rest. If we could insert a pseudo-pornographic image of Corey Lewandowski and Kanye West to grab your attention, we would. We can’t, so we’ll just insert this:

Same diff.

We’re not going to make up wild stories about Donald Trump getting into 3AM Twitter fights with a former beauty pageant queen while running for president, or comparing the sacrifice of a gold star family’s son to building chintzy luxury condos, or bragging on camera about sexually assaulting women with impunity. Nor would we accuse him of alluding to the size of his genitalia during a presidential debate, or speculating about the size of his infant daughter’s future breasts, or openly admitting to misappropriating charitable funds in the Trump Foundation’s 2015 IRS tax filings. This is not about needlessly shaming a man with the best temperament and huge hands.

Our nation was caught between a rock and a bigly hard place on November 8th, and all kidding aside, many of the voters who cast their ballots for Trump had legitimate grievances. Working class Americans have been sucker-punched by globalization, trade policies and a sea change of technological advancement. They feel marginalized by mainstream “elites” and utterly failed by Washington. Trump garnered support precisely because of his political inexperience, his conspicuous wealth, and his candor — about our state of affairs, if not his genitalia.

He means what you think he means.

Voters had a choice on Election Day, and they chose Donald Trump…

Sort of.

In truth, more of them chose Hillary Clinton — by a margin of over 2.8 million votes. The irony of the fact that Trump has “won” this election is that he has only “won” it because of an institution whose very existence was designed specifically to prevent someone like him from winning.

Looking at you, the Electoral College.

Presumably some pompous ass in your life has already sounded off about the Constitutional underpinnings of the Electoral College until your ears bled, so we’ll provide an abridged version here: our founding fathers were afraid that We the People might someday elect an incompetent, megalomaniacal lunatic (with small hands) who threatens the basic tenets of our democracy, and the only failsafe they could think of was to erect a human shield in the form of electors who “will be the most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated [tasks]” and “most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station.” You, in other words, are our defensive line.

You would not be in violation of your duty as an elector to vote against the will of your state. On the contrary, it is your sole duty as an elector to exercise your judgment as to whether and when voting against the will of your state is necessary. If you opt to vote for the will of your state against your better judgment, then you are, in fact, violating your duty as an elector.

Blatant ploy for your attention.

Now before you tell us to go screw ourselves for the pompous asses we are, we concede that we are asking you to take on an enormous risk in voting against Trump — both personally and professionally. You will probably incur more hate mail and harassment. If you are Republicans, you will risk becoming pariahs within your own party. If you represent a state with binding elector laws, you may face fines (though rest assured, the American people will likely crowdsource any and all of your expenses). Your decision to vote for a candidate — any qualified candidate, from any party — other than Trump will be a subject of fierce debate for years to come.

But your decision to vote for Trump will equally be a subject of debate, and one for which history may not judge you kindly. We’ll deluge you with the many — many — reasons why this will be case in a minute, but first, know this: should you decide to take a stand against Trump, you will have the backing of the majority of the American people, and many members of the Republican party who are too hesitant to come forward publicly (yet). According to Larry Lessig, at least 20 of your Republican fellow electors are already on the fence.

Below is a list for which we sacrificed our appetites and possibly a few years off our lives to compile: a mere few of the substantive threats Donald Trump poses to the future of American democracy. Lest we bore in you in the process, we promise to regale you with inappropriate memes for the duration of this letter.

Here’s what Trump said and did before the election:

Questioned why the United States can’t use our nuclear arsenal.

Claimed to “know more than the generals do” about ISIS.

Praised the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Jong-un, and Mussolini.

Real men ride bareback.

Cast doubt on whether or not he would honor defense treaty arrangements with U.S. allies.

Endorsed the use of torture and war crimes.

Said that John McCain was not a war hero because he was captured.

Insulted and diminished the sacrifice of gold star families.

Defended the internment of the Japanese during WWII.

Refused to release his tax returns (and still hasn’t).

Barred reporters from campaign events when he didn’t like their coverage.

Accused Mexican immigrants of being rapists.

Small hands, big taco.

Called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

Described climate change as a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.

Mocked a reporter on public television for being disabled.

Boasted in a recording about sexually assaulting women.

Said of his own daughter: “I don’t think Ivanka would do that [pose for Playboy], although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I would be dating her.”

The first and only time we will ever agree with Ivanka Trump.

Here’s what Trump has said and done since the election:

Settled a mass fraud case against Trump University for $25 million.

Admitted that his charity, the Trump Foundation, was guilty of self-dealing.

Claimed — falsely and without retraction — that “millions” of Americans voted illegally in the election.

Save the dove!

Requested security clearance for a conspiracy theorist who claims that the Clintons operate a Satanic child sex ring out of a popular D.C. pizzeria.

Jeopardized U.S. relations with China by publicly bragging about a call with the president of a Taiwan, an impulsive breech of decades of diplomatic protocol.

Took calls from foreign leaders on unsecured phone lines, without consulting the State Department.

Invited the manager of his “blind trust” onto phone calls with the president of the Argentina and the prime minister of Japan.

Has consistently obfuscated potentially unconstitutional conflicts of interest with his business.

The best at ties.

Suggested that burning the flag be punishable by jail-time and loss of citizenship.

Continues to jeer at and erode public confidence in the press at post-election campaign rallies.

Has attacked the New York Times, CNN and the editor of Vanity Fair for coverage that he deems critical.

Singled out a union leader on Twitter for mentioning empirical facts about the Carrier deal in a television interview.

Appointed Steve Bannon, who described Breitbart news of which he was the executive chair as “the platform for the alt-right,” as White House chief strategist.

…………………dove?

Appointed Michael Flynn, who has trafficked conspiracy theories about Muslims on Twitter and re-tweeted an anti-semitic tweet that said “‘The USSR is to blame!’ Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore,” as National Security Adviser.

Appointed Rick Perry, who vowed to abolish the Department of Energy and couldn’t remember its name in a 2012 debate, as Secretary of Energy.

Appointed Ben Carson, who said that he might “cripple the presidency” if he were to take a cabinet position and has no expertise in housing, as Secretary of Housing.

Appointed Scott Pruitt, who denies the existence of climate change, as head of the EPA.

Here’s how Trump stacks up against eminent American Presidents:

George Washington.

“ The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.”

Abraham Lincoln.

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

“You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry.”

Theodore Roosevelt.

“ To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

“The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.”

“True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence… People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably integrity.”

“You don’t lead by hitting people over the head — that’s assault, not leadership.”

John F. Kennedy.

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

Ronald Reagan.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

Donald J. Trump?

“Owning a great golf course gives you great power.”

“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters.”

On women: “You have to treat ’em like shit.”

“I have the best words.”

You laugh, and yet…

Donald Trump has promised that he will fix a broken Washington, fight for the middle class, improve our national security and ‘make America great again.’ His actions, his words, his cabinet choices and his willingness already to backtrack on campaign promises suggest otherwise.

At stake is America’s standing in the world, the strength of our democracy, the endurance of institutional norms, the freedom of the press, the protection of civil liberties, the integrity of our highest office and the most salient principles of our Constitution.

“The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States.” The Federalist Papers: №68

Your duty as electors, as dictated by our founding fathers, demands that you determine Donald Trump to be “endowed with the requisite qualifications” in order to cast your vote for him. Given everything above, we ask if you can say in good conscience that Donald Trump is fit for the office of the President of the United States. We are one day away from irrevocably changing the course of American history. The only thing that stands between our nation and that fate is you.

Respectfully,

Deep Throat / John and Jane Doe / Tom, Dick and Harry / Huey, Dewey and Louie / A group of concerned citizens & former Republicans / People who really, really don’t want to get into a Twitter war with Donald Trump.