2 Colorado Electors Trying To Prevent Trump Presidency
DENVER (AP) — Two Colorado electors filed a lawsuit Tuesday to overturn a state law requiring electors to cast their ballots for the presidential candidate who won their state.
Hillary Clinton won Colorado on Nov. 8. The two electors, Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich, are Democrats who want to be free to cut a deal with their GOP counterparts and vote for someone else to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president.
The lawsuit is part of a long-shot attempt at denying Trump the presidency when the electoral college meets on Dec. 19 to cast votes.
The electors are part of an informal group from Colorado and Washington state lobbying Republican electors to select someone besides Trump.
If they can peel off enough of Trump's 306 electors to support a consensus Republican, they hope to add enough Democratic votes to make that candidate president.
One name floated as a consensus pick was Ohio Gov. John Kasich, but he took himself out of the running, saying Americans should accept the outcome of the election.
The electors argue the Colorado requirement, similar to ones binding electors in 28 other states, violates their First Amendment rights. It's unclear precisely what the penalties would be for violating the statute.
On Monday, a Republican elector in Texas announced in the New York Times that he could not vote for Donald Trump even though the GOP candidate won his state.
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