Faithless Electors V. 1

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1 Robert Timothy Reagan, et al., Faithless Electors 1 (2018)

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CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Faithless Electors
Baca v. Hickenlooper (Wiley Y. Daniel, D. Colo.
1:16-cv-2986), Chiafalo v. Inslee (James L. Robart,
W.D. Wash. 2:16-cv-1886), Koller v. Brown
(Edward J. Davila, N.D. Cal. 5:16-cv-7069),
and Abdurrahman v. Dayton
(Paul A. Magnuson, D. Minn. No. 0:16-cv-4279)
After one party's candidate earned more votes in the 2016 presiden-
tial election, but the other party's candidate earned more Electoral
College votes, electors in four states won by the popular-vote victor
filed federal complaints to relieve electors from voting as pledged.
No federal court granted any plaintiff immediate relief.
Subject: Voting irregularities. Topics: Electoral College;
intervention; laches.
The 2016 presidential election resulted in a majority of votes for Hillary Clin-
ton, but Donald Trump earned a majority of Electoral College votes.' Elec-
tors in four states that Clinton won filed unsuccessful federal lawsuits seek-
ing judicial rulings freeing electors from voting as pledged.
Colorado
Two members of the Electoral College who were pledged to vote for the
Democratic nominees for President and Vice President who prevailed in
Colorado on November 8, 2016, filed a federal complaint in the District of
Colorado on December 6 seeking relief from legal obligations preventing the
Electoral College from being a deliberative body.2 The electors sought, for
example, an opportunity to vote for a consensus candidate other than Hillary
Clinton, who prevailed in Colorado, or Donald Trump, who was expected to
earn the most votes in the Electoral College and whom the plaintiffs regarded
as unfit.' With their complaint, the electors filed a motion for a temporary
restraining order and a preliminary injunction.'
On Friday, December 9, Judge Wiley Y. Daniel granted a motion by Col-
orado's Republican Party to intervene to protect its candidates' ultimate vic-

1. See, e.g., Michael Finnegan, Electors Stick to Script, Seal Trump as President, L.A.
Times, Dec. 20, 2016, at Al.
2. Complaint, Baca v. Hickenlooper, No. 1:16-cv-2986 (D. Colo. Dec. 6, 2016), D.E. 1
[hereinafter Baca Complaint]; see John Frank, Anti-Trump Electors Sue State, Denver Post,
Dec. 7, 2016, at 2A; Sean Sullivan & Ed O'Keefe, Electors for Trump Urged to Have Second
Thoughts, Wash. Post, Dec. 7, 2016, at A4.
3. Baca Complaint, supra note 2, at 3-4.
4. Motion, Baca, No. 1:16-cv-2986 (D. Colo. Dec. 6, 2016), D.E. 2.

Federal Judicial Center 10/23/2018

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