There are still three pending federal lawsuits over whether presidential electors have the freedom to vote for anyone they wish who meets the Constitutional qualifications. The California and Minnesota lawsuits are moving slowly, but the Colorado case is very active. On December 22, the presidential electors filed this interesting 22-page brief in their lawsuit, Baca v Colorado Department of State, 1:17cv-1937. The three plaintiff-electors are Polly Baca, Robert Nemanich, and Micheal Baca.
The brief reveals that two scholarly articles were published late last year, examining the question of whether the founding fathers intended that the electors should be permitted to vote for anyone who is qualified. They are: “The Constitutional Power of the Electoral College” by Michael Stokes Paulsen; and “Is the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act Unconstitutional?” by Robert J. Delahunty.
Can Colorado lawfully present information on the ballot that Baca, Baca, and Nemanich would vote for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine if they were elected?
Colorado should require individual presidential candidates to file as candidates, and include a list of up to nine electors, whose names would appear on ballots. Individuals could also file as electors. Voters could vote for up to 9 electors. Political parties would be free in their private advertising that they support presidential candidates or individual electors.
How is Micheal Baca’s first name pronounced? News stories appear to spell it “Michael”, but the official documents use the “Micheal” spelling.
Once upon a time all states had ballots that let voters choose which presidential elector candidates to vote for. The last such state was Vermont in 1976.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agency
— ignore the WILL/COMMAND of the Electors/Voters [and ignore the LAW in States commanding the 12th Amdt Prez Electors to vote according to election results] ???
Good luck finding ANY mention of the above in the 1st Amdt debates in 1789 and the 1789-1791 State ratification debates.
IE – this stuff is one more PERVERSION of the 1st Amdt regarding ballot access and election math —
due to earlier SCOTUS moron perversions of the 1st Amdt.
Some DARK AGE history —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince-elector
Electoral college for choosing Ex-Holy Roman Emperors
BIT MORE —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_elections_in_Poland
Oligarchs/electors picking a chief oligarch – monarch.
The USA Electoral College is one more oligarch machination —
due in major part due to 1787 slavery in the southern States —
IE NO uniform definition of Elector-Voter in ALL of the USA in the 1787 USA Const.
Stuff can rot for centuries before a major/final blowup
— such as the late 1700’s Poland chaos or the 2016 USA Prez minority rule election.
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PR and AppV
Presidential Electors are simply a panel or jury of common electors selected to directly choose a President and Vice President. They are free to choose as they please just as regular common electors were free to choose as they pleased to fill other offices until the subversion of voter sovereignty with so-called ballot access “reform” laws after 1870. Repeal all ballot access laws.
Also, as the Colorado suit cited contends Presidential Electors are charged with performing a federal function. States delegate the choice of Presidential Electors to common voters or electors just as when electing members of Congress. Those who vote for Presidential Electors are also performing a federal function and any state ballot regulation that restricts the voters freedom of choice in the selection of Presidential Electors or members of Congress is also unconstitutional. The Colorado suit does not reach the violation of voters rights in the election of Presidential Electors but the implication is there.
By this chain of reasoning there cannot be any constitution basis for ballot access laws.
@DR,
You gave me an idea. What if a state appointed its former representatives and senators as electors, based on the longevity since they left federal office, so long as they are residents of the state. For example for Colorado:
Jim Johnson 37 years.
Gary Hart 31
Ken Kramer 31
Tim Wirth 25
Hank Brown 21
Pat Schroeder 21
David Skaggs 19
Robert Schaffer 15
Ben Nighthorse Campbell 13
==========================
Scott McInnis 13
Joel Hefley 11
Bob Beauprez 11
Wayne Allard 9
Tom Tancredo 9
Marilyn Musgrave 9
Ken Salazar 7
John Salazar 7
Betsey Markey 7
Mark Udall 3
Ties broken by service as Senator, then age.
So there is an incentive to leave federal office and return home.
@DFR,
Does Colorado violate the rights of voters by implying that the presidential electors will vote for a certain person?
1. What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. Cummings v. Missouri, 71 U.S. 277, 325 (1867); U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 778, 829 (1995).
Sooo– the name of Prez/VP candidates on ballots means ZERO
— ie the will/order of the voters can be directly ignored by some arrogant 12th Amdt Prez/VP electors — who have total contempt of such will/order ???
NO shortage of killer tyrants in world history with their contempt for Democracy and election results — Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Hirohito, Stalin, Mao, etc etc etc.
—
2. Also there is —
14-2 Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of [[electors for President and Vice President of the United States,]] Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, [[or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime,]] the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Any *abridged* right to vote ??? — when the will/order of the voters is ignored by an arrogant 12th Amdt Prez/VP elector — who has total contempt for such will/order of the voters.
—
Uniform definition of Elector-Voter in ALL of the USA.
— ie send the DARK AGE Electoral College to the politics junk yard along with divine right of kings, slavery, etc. [NOT to be recycled].
PR and AppV
Art II, Sec 1 part —
Each State shall [[appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,]] a Number of [Prez/VP] Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
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An APPOINTED person can do whatever ??? —
ie ignore the CONDITIONS of the appointment ???
Each state may have the legislature appoint or the Governor appoint or the State Supreme Court Justices or any body created by the state legislature appoint Presidential Electors so long as none of the Electors appointed are federal officials. Since any former federal officials are profiting from their former government offices as pensioned retirees, they should be ineligible to serve as Electors in any state. This would also include all military, civil service employees welfare and Social Security recipients since they are obviously profiting from the federal treasury. Only “pure” civilians are constitutionally eligible to serve as Presidential Electors.
The Electoral College is more like a panel of jurors in each state (and DC).
In addition, I should point out that a candidate seeking a federal office (Presidency or Congress), but who has not yet been sworn in should be eligible to serve as a Presidential Elector. The Elector function terminates in December before the elected person takes office in January of the following year – so long as they are not already an incumbent. In other words non-incumbent Presidential candidates should be able to vote for themselves as Electors from their state – if duly appointed.
The Electoral College mess was one of the last things done in the top secret 1787 Fed Convention by the elite oligarch hacks.
ANY of them *elected* by the People – ie electors/voters in the States ???
At least in some of the States the ratifying convention members were elected from existing rotted gerrymander districts.