Hundreds March in Portland Protesting Electoral College Vote

Several hundred protesters took to downtown Portland streets Monday night for an "Electoral Justice" march during the evening commute. Portland's Resistance, the group that led protest marches for days after Donald Trump's presidential victory last month, organized the event, according to Oregon Live.

The march began as the Electoral College met Monday throughout the nation to formally cast votes in the 2016 election. Oregon's seven electoral college voters have already cast their vote in support of Hillary Clinton, reflecting the popular vote results of election night 2016. Some groups had held out hope of an electoral voter revolt in swing states, handing the presidency to Clinton.

Portland's protest and march began at the South Park Blocks at Portland State University. Cameron Whitten, march organizer, told The Oregonian/OregonLive he expected about 400 people to meet at PSU for some speeches before marching to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

While they are protesting the Electoral College, Whitten said, "This is a callout for people to look at everything that is going on this country." That includes protesting concerns about Russia hacking the U.S. election, he said.

After winding through downtown -- and being denied crossing the Burnside Bridge by Portland police -- the group arrived back at PSU about 7:30 p.m. Chanting "we reject the president elect" and declaring to continue resistance for the next four years, the protest came to an end.

Photo by Kate Ausburn via Flickr Commons