On December 13, a Colorado state court ruled that presidential electors who vote for someone other than the expected candidates automatically ceases to be a presidential elector. See the ruling here. The case is Williams v Baca.
According to this story, the Secretary of State says he will recommend criminal charges for any elector who votes differently than for the expected candidates.
Colorado election law 1-4-304 governs the meeting of presidential electors. They convene at noon in the Governor’s office.
Can the SoS even recommend charges? I thought that was the AG’s job.
Any chance this gets to the SC before the 19th?
Colorado’s Attorney General is a Republican, so he will probably take the advice of the Secretary of State, who is also a Republican.
@Kevin Ramage,
The SoS would recommend that the AG or a DA file charges.
Nice touch requiring that the Colorado Democratic Party name replacements. The elector candidates were only selected after they pledged to vote for the party presidential candidates. The pledges were executed at the Sanders-dominated state convention in April, so it is quite possible that the recalcitrant electors were Sanders supporters.
The oath could simply include a statement that the electors intend to comply with CRS §1-4-304(5).
Perhaps they could meet separately and prepare a statement of vote, forge a seal, and the signatures of the Secretary of State and Governor and send the fake document to Congress.
It appears that the certificate of vote is actually executed by the electors. So the recalcitrant electors could meet separately and prepare a certificate of vote, and send it to Congress. It would be up to Congress to determine which votes are legitimate.
The election law says the meeting must be in the Governor’s office, starting at noon, so only the meeting at that location would seem to be legal.
It would be up to Congress to decide whether a meeting of “electors” in some other location would be counted.
Regardless of where they met, voting for someone other than Clinton would violate Colorado law. The question is what would happen if the original electors decided to simply ignore the Colorado law and send a list of votes for other candidates to Congress. Congress could either side with Colorado law and declare the original electors’ votes invalid, or Congress could choose to ignore/overrule Colorado law and recognize the votes the original electors sent.
NON-juveniles can look at Title 3 U.S. Code for the Prez E.C. stuff.
For adults —
§7. Meeting and vote of electors
The electors of President and Vice President of each State shall meet and give their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following their appointment at such place in each State as the legislature of such State shall direct.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 673.)
Constitutional Provisions
Day of voting by electors, see Const. Art. II, §1, cl. 3.
Voting by electors, see Const. Amend. XII.
§8. Manner of voting
The electors shall vote for President and Vice President, respectively, in the manner directed by the Constitution.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 674.)
§9. Certificates of votes for President and Vice President
The electors shall make and sign six certificates of all the votes given by them, each of which certificates shall contain two distinct lists, one of the votes for President and the other of the votes for Vice President, and shall annex to each of the certificates one of the lists of the electors which shall have been furnished to them by direction of the executive of the State.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 674.)
§10. Sealing and endorsing certificates
The electors shall seal up the certificates so made by them, and certify upon each that the lists of all the votes of such State given for President, and of all the votes given for Vice President, are contained therein.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 674.)
§11. Disposition of certificates
The electors shall dispose of the certificates so made by them and the lists attached thereto in the following manner:
First. They shall forthwith forward by registered mail one of the same to the President of the Senate at the seat of government.
Second. Two of the same shall be delivered to the secretary of state of the State, one of which shall be held subject to the order of the President of the Senate, the other to be preserved by him for one year and shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection.
Third. On the day thereafter they shall forward by registered mail two of such certificates and lists to the Archivist of the United States at the seat of government, one of which shall be held subject to the order of the President of the Senate. The other shall be preserved by the Archivist of the United States for one year and shall be a part of the public records of his office and shall be open to public inspection.
Fourth. They shall forthwith cause the other of the certificates and lists to be delivered to the judge of the district in which the electors shall have assembled.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 674; Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, §7, 65 Stat. 712; Pub. L. 98–497, title I, §107(e)(1), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2291.)