Colorado presidential electors file lawsuit to block Trump
Two Democratic members of the Electoral College in the US state of Colorado have taken legal action to change a state law that requires them to elect the winner of the state’s popular vote.
Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich were the two presidential electors who filed the federal lawsuit on Tuesday, despite their earlier pledges to support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who won Colorado’s nine electoral votes.
The defiant electors said they had joined the so-called “Moral Electors” movement, a group of presidential electors who aim to persuade Republican electors in other states to choose a third-party candidate instead of President-elect Donald Trump.
The pair also proposed a new plan to choose a Republican candidate other than Trump.
The movement’s ultimate goal is preventing Trump from reaching the 270-vote threshold required to officially win the presidency.
Despite losing the popular vote by a significant margin during the November 8 election, Trump managed to defeat Clinton 306-232 in terms of electoral votes.
The final vote count, however, is unclear as some of the Electoral College’s 538 electors have made it clear that they would not vote for Trump when the electoral body reconvenes on December 19.
Texas elector Christopher Suprun was the latest to join the group, saying on Monday that he had sworn “an oath to defend my country and Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
“On December 19, I will do it again,” said Suprun, a paramedic who served as a firefighter during the September 11, 2011 attacks.
Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams slammed the move by Baca and Nemanich, saying the “faithless” electors risked being replaced for not “honoring the will of the Coloradans.”
Although the electors have admitted that their attempt is not likely to succeed, the fact that members of the Electoral College were openly plotting against the president-elect raises questions about the controversial process of electing the president.
The attempt to undermine Trump’s election victory came at a time when the New York businessman was facing another battle in Michigan, where his 15 electoral votes were at stake due to a recount bid filed by Green Party nominee Jill Stein.
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