Trump surpasses 270 votes in Electoral College to formally win presidency

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Donald Trump has cruised to victory in the Electoral College despite thousands of anti-Trump protesters who converged on state capitols across the country.

Monday's vote ensures that the billionaire will become America's 45th president.

Texas put the Republican president-elect over the 270-vote threshold. Electors had been deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support Trump. Two Texas electors cast protest votes against Trump, but in the end he had more than he needed.

The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.

Washington electors stray

Four members of the Electoral College in Washington state cast their votes for a candidate other than statewide popular vote winner Hillary Clinton.

It’s the first time in four decades the state’s electors have broken from the popular vote for president. Washington’s 12 electors met Monday afternoon in the state Capitol to complete the constitutional formality.

Democrat Hillary Clinton received eight votes, former Secretary of State Colin Powell got three, and Faith Spotted Eagle, an elder in the Yankton Dakota tribe, got one. Clinton won the state’s popular vote.

Republican Donald Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232 in the Nov. 8 election.