Rhode Island leaders and electors conveyed an air of vigilance on Monday as Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea convened the Electoral College to cast their votes for President and Vice President of the United States.

“This was clearly one of the longest, most divisive, and ugliest campaigns that we’ve seen,” said Governor Gina Raimondo. “I know many of us are here today, and this isn’t exactly how we hoped to be feeling today. But it is our duty to participate in this democracy and to participate in the peaceful transfer of power.”

Raimondo tried to remain optimistic, waving to the young students present and pledging to keep Rhode Island a welcoming place.

“I will tell you from my heart, I pledge to you today as your governor that we work tirelessly for the people of Rhode Island – all the people of Rhode Island, of every race, of every ethnicity, of every religion, of every gender, of every zip code – to work to unite our state after this divisive election, to come together on the values we share, to put Rhode Island families first, and to make Rhode Island a place of inclusiveness and opportunity at every rung of the economic ladder,” she said.

Raimondo then administered an oath to Rhode Island’s four presidential electors: Representative Grace Diaz, Frank J. Montanaro of Cranston, Herbert Claiborne Pell of Providence and L. Susan Weiner of East Greenwich. Pell was chosen as president of the College of Rhode Island Electors and Diaz the secretary.

“I’m so proud that Rhode Island exercises inclusion. Inclusion means we are all equal and have the same opportunity. That’s the feeling I have today,” Diaz said, who had earlier expressed her pride in voting for a female presidential nominee as a black and Latino woman.

When it came time to cast their own votes, each elector appeared confident as they announced their votes for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. Weiner smiled proudly as she announced hers. Cheers from the gallery and floor erupted after Clinton and Kaine won all four votes. “Stop Trump” signs waved and blue Clinton logo buttons shined in the lights of the House Chamber. Many people, like Mel DuPont, understood that the state’s electors would vote for Clinton but showed up to protest President-elect Donald Trump anyway in hopes that their voices would reach beyond Rhode Island.

“It’s the electors in the red states that I’m hoping over the past few weeks have seen what Donald Trump is all about and have realized maybe any other Republican would be a better choice and would be willing to flip their vote to someone else,” DuPont said.

The electors also were cheered when they passed a resolution “calling on the Congress supporting President Obama’s call for an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate Russian interference in our election process.” Pell told reporters that “integrity” was motivation for the resolution.

“This is about the integrity of the election process moving forward and making sure we as a state are very clear that it is inappropriate for a foreign country to intervene in our elections,” he said.

Pell said he’d heard from “thousands” of people across the state and country who told him it was “absolutely unacceptable that a foreign government would intervene in our election.” He acknowledged that the motion was not about changing the outcome of the election but said it was important for people to have the facts.

“This is not about changing the outcome. This is about defending the democratic will of the people,” Pell said. “I believe in the peaceful transfer of power, but I also believe in making sure that [Trump] stands with the intelligence community and with the American people and not with the Russian government.”

Diaz agreed.

“I think it’s fair to have an investigation so all Americans have a clear understanding that it was a fraud or not, that there was an intervention from Russia or not,” she said. “Every single citizen deserves the opportunity to know the truth.”