HARRISBURG -- The Electoral College is set to vote Monday for president and vice president. Here in Pennsylvania, electors will meet in Harrisburg at noon.
This year, more than most, electors have been hearing a lot from voters.
Donald Trump is expected to officially be elected president of the United States when the 538 members of the Electoral College cast their votes.
Normally, the institution is a just formality, but this year has been anything but typical. Electors have been in the spotlight like never before.
In every state and Washington, D.C., electors will officially pick a president and vice president.
Representative Tina Pickett of Towanda traveled to the Harrisburg area Sunday night and plans to cast her ballot for Donald Trump at noon.
"The state voted for him. I don't have the right to change that," Rep. Tina Pickett, (R) 110th District said.
Like other electors, Pickett has received a deluge of mail from people who want her to change her vote and people who don't.
"I have bins of it. The mailman has given me a "what is going on" look as he brings in more bins of it," she said.
Pickett's also received Facebook messages, tens of thousands of emails, and even a few calls from Hollywood.
"A lot of California calls. I remember Susan Lucci. I cannot remember who else."
Electors like Pickett are chosen by their state political party.
Many shoppers we spoke to in Lackawanna County call the system confusing.
"I don't know how the system works. I know it's crazy," said one woman.
Karlene Albrecht of Moosic had trouble explaining the process to her son.
"The Electrical College is a little bit hard to explain. I think a lot of people would prefer the popular vote," Albrecht said.
Other people we spoke with disagreed.
"It was always doing its job, what it was put in there for, so they should keep it, I think," John Norton of Moosic.
Pickett says even with all the controversy, being an elector has strengthened her belief in the system.
"This is just one more piece of how it all comes together to create the president," she said.
There is a scenario in which Monday's election will not be official. If neither candidate gets 270 votes in the Electoral College, the election goes to Congress.
The people we spoke to say they are good and ready to have the election officially over.
After Monday's votes, there is still one last step: On January 6, Congress has to officially count the electoral votes. Vice President Joe Biden will preside over the count.
Lawmakers can technically object -- in writing, with objections signed by at least one House and one Senate member -- to individual electoral votes or entire states' results. If the House and Senate support that objection, the vote or votes in question are thrown out. But that has never happened.
After the votes are counted, the results are final. Inauguration Day is January 20.
