A federal judge on Monday rejected an attempt by two Colorado electors to unbind their votes in the Electoral College, saying the effort designed to impede Donald Trump’s path to the White House is “a political stunt.”
U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel denied a request for a preliminary injunction to nullify a state law that requires presidential electors to vote for the winner of the state’s popular vote. To do otherwise, Daniel said in his ruling from the bench, “would undermine the electoral process.”
The president-elect and the Trump campaign intervened in the lawsuit to “defend the integrity of the electoral process” and applauded the ruling. “Your vote should count when you vote for president,” said Chris Murray, a Denver attorney representing Trump and the campaign.
Two Democratic electors who pledged to support Democrat Hillary Clinton — the winner of Colorado’s nine electoral votes — argued the law is unconstitutional. Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich wanted to break their vow as part of a far-fetched effort to trade their votes for an alternative candidate and keep Trump from receiving his 306 electoral votes. Clinton won 232.
The “Hamilton Electors” movement is trying to convince Republican electors supporting Trump to defect — and force the question to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Even with the setback, an attorney for the electors said they remain undeterred and plan to vote for a candidate other than Clinton when the state’s Electoral College members meet at noon Monday. A third Democratic elector in Colorado, Micheal Baca, who is helping lead the broader effort, said after the court decision that he would do the same.
The electors are deciding to “put their country above their party at this critical moment in history,” he said outside the federal courthouse in Denver.
Micheal Baca is one of 10 electors across the nation who requested on Monday a national intelligence briefing on Trump’s ties to Russia before the Electoral College meets.
Secretary of State Wayne Williams said he will replace electors who shift their allegiances and suggested they may face criminal charges. As public officers, the electors could face a misdemeanor criminal charge for failing to meet their public duty, which carries the potential for a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail.
Williams filed a separate legal action in state court to seek guidance on how to replace so-called “faithless electors,” given the unprecedented situation and ambiguities in Colorado law. A Denver judge is scheduled to hear arguments in the case Tuesday.
The lawsuit to declare the state law unconstitutional remains pending in federal court, but the judge suggested no decision would come before the Electoral College meets.
Jason Wesoky, an attorney for the two electors seeking to overturn the law, said he is still deciding whether to seek an emergency appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an injunction. But he maintained the lawsuit would move forward.
Reacting to suggestions that his case is unprecedented, Wesoky said “just because the emergency brake has not been pulled, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be used.”
In a more than two-hour court hearing, Wesoky argued that the U.S. Constitution states that his clients “cannot be coerced or influenced in any manner. … They must be allowed to exercise their free will.”
At frequent intervals, the judge interrupted Wesoky to dispute his arguments. “Part of me thinks this is really a political stunt to prevent Mr. Trump from being president,” said Daniel, who was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton.
Grant Sullivan, an assistant solicitor general representing Williams, Gov. John Hickenlooper and state Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, argued that the lawsuit relies on “an antiquated historical understanding of how the Electoral College worked in the 1800s.”
The judicial precedents on the limited role of the electors, Sullivan added, “puts to bed that there’s a constitutional right that’s been hidden for 200 years.”
Jerad Sutton, a Democratic elector not involved in the case, sat in the audience at the court hearing. “I think the will of Colorado is to not have Donald Trump in the White House, and that’s what we are trying to do here,” he said outside the courtroom.
But, he acknowledged, he plans to keep his pledge and vote for Clinton.