Lisa Laws Peaks
Washington Elector Arends, suffering from terminal heart disease, burst into tears when he fulfilled his "end of life duty" to vote for Joe Biden.
The US Electoral College on December 14 (December 15, Hanoi) has completed the presidential election process, in which Joe Biden won with 306 votes, President Donald Trump got 232 votes.
A colleague came to comfort elector Jack Arends (left) when he collapsed on the table and burst into tears in the session on December 14 Photo: AP.
Jack Arends, 64, the Washington state electorate, after joining 11 other electors in the state to complete the voting process for Joe Biden, delivered a very emotional speech, before dropping his head on the table and crying.
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Last month, Arends said, he was told by his doctor that he had a terminal illness and had no cure.
In an interview last week, he said he was diagnosed with heart disease just days after being selected by the Democrats as one of Washington's 12 electors.
Even though life is counted as days, Arends, a retired aviation analyst and the only Snohomish county electorate, is determined to fulfill his obligations.
"I don't know how much time I have left in this world, but I will make sense of it while I'm still here and still an elector. This is the last thing I want to get done, me.
So on the day of the electoral votes, Arends wore a black beret with the words "Nice play", carrying two Sharpie markers entering the hall.
In his speech, Arends also pointed out that America's electoral college system is "not perfect", but is the only thing they have right now.
"I will have to rely on others to do the hard work of rebuilding our country, because my health no longer allows it," he said, before suddenly ending his speech and burst into tears.
Washington State Secretary-General Kim Wyman, a Republican who presided over the electoral vote, thanked Arends at the end of the meeting.
On January 6, US Vice President and Senate President Mike Pence will preside over a plenary session of Congress to read aloud certificates of the electoral votes of each state, alphabetically.
The electoral college's voting results are often symbolic and attract little attention, but this year has become important as President Trump decided not to lose.
