David M Jackson

USA TODAY

A coalition of groups opposed to Donald Trump are planning demonstrations in all 50 state capitals on Monday, targeting the meetings of a historic and much-disputed organization: the Electoral College.

Their goal is a long shot: persuading enough electors to abandon commitments to vote for Trump, somehow denying him the majority he needs to claim the presidency.

“Electors were given the responsibility by our Founders to vote for whoever will be the best person for the job as President," said Democracy Spring organizer Tania Maduro. "Electoral College, only you can save us.”

Under the U.S. Constitution, voters do not vote directly for presidents; they vote for members of the Electoral College who vote for presidents during post-election meetings in each state. In most cases, candidates who win statewide votes claim all the electors in those states.

Though he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election, Trump won enough states to claim 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232.

A winning majority requires 270 electoral votes, and only a few members of the college have talked about being "faithless electors."

The Electoral College meets in each state capital on Monday.

Organizers of what they call the Dec. 19 protests — including Americans Take Action, the Electoral College Petition, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and the Hamilton Electors, as well Democracy Spring — say they will try to change the results despite the long odds.

In addition to stressing Trump's loss in the popular vote, protest organizers cite news reports about a CIA analysis saying that Russia interests behind President Vladimir Putin interfered in the election by hacking the emails of Democratic officials.

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"If Putin picked our President, not We the People, then Trump must be rejected by the Electoral College,” said Ryan Clayton, a spokesman for the group Americans Take Action.

Trump aides have dismissed efforts to change the Electoral College. They have also disputed CIA allegations about election interference, saying that Trump opponents are pushing the Russia claims in order to somehow excuse their loss.

Transition spokesman Jason Miller said there is an "effort to try to de-legitimize President-elect Trump's win," and "I think probably most people are getting tired of that."

Clinton's popular vote lead passes the 2 million mark