Law Professor Derek Muller has filed this amicus in Chiafalo v State of Washington, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court should not render a decision on whether presidential electors have freedom to vote for any qualified candidate. He says that Congress should settle such disputes. He points out that Micheal Baca, the plaintiff from Colorado who sued after the Secretary of State of Colorado “fired” him, should have asked Congress to recognize him as an elector. Because Baca failed to do so, Professor Muller advocates that Baca lacks standing.

Muller also says that the U.S. Supreme Court was wrong to hear Bush v Gore in 2000. In that case, he argues, the U.S. Supreme Court intruded on the authority of Congress. By contrast, in the disputed election of 1876, Congress created a way to resolve the dispute.

Five scholars have filed this amicus curiae brief in Chiafalo v State of Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court presidential elector case. They are Michael L. Rosin, David G. Post, David F. Forte, Michael Stokes Paulsen, and Sotirios Barber. Their brief is a fascinating read for persons interested in the history of the electoral college. Especially interesting is the section toward the end, about the 1896 presidential election, relative to the different vice-presidential candidates of the Democratic Party and the Peoples Party.

The Pennsylvania Green Party statewide petition is circulating. The petition lists Elizabeth Scroggin for president, and Neal Gale for vice-president. They are stand-ins, because the party doesn’t know who its actual candidates will be until July. Pennsylvania law allows stand-ins.