Colorado AG arguing in ‘faithless elector’ SCOTUS case
DENVER, Colo. (AP, KRDO) — Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser will make the arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court in a ‘faithless elector’ case Wednesday morning.
The case, Colorado Department of State v. Baca, may have important consequences for the upcoming presidential election in November.
The case deals with whether presidential electors have to support the winner of the popular vote in their state, or if they can choose another candidate.
During the 2016 presidential election, Michael Baca, a member of the Electoral College in Colorado, tried to go against the state’s popular vote for Hillary Clinton by casting his ballot for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Baca, a democrat, chose not to vote for her Clinton in an attempt to persuade other electors in states won by Donald Trump to choose someone else and deny Trump the presidency.
Baca was removed and replaced by a substitute elector who cast her ballot for Hillary Clinton.
There were 9 other faithless electors in 2016, in Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Texas and Washington.
Three of the electors from Washington joined Baca in filing lawsuits.
The federal appeals court in Denver ruled that electors can vote as they please, rejecting arguments that they must choose the popular-vote winner. In Washington, the state Supreme Court upheld a $1,000 fine against the three electors and rejected their claims.
Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia require presidential electors to vote for the popular-vote winner, and electors almost always do so anyway. Under the Constitution, the country elects the president indirectly, with voters choosing people who actually cast an Electoral College ballot for president. It takes 270 votes to win.
So-called faithless electors have not been critical to the outcome of a presidential election, but that could change in a contest with a razor-thin margin.
The arguments are being made by telephone because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case will be heard at 9 a.m. Mountain Time. Audio of the arguments will be streamed live at www.supremecourt.gov and on CSPAN.
