Thursday, December 15, 2016

Judge Rejects Washington Electors' Attempt to Avoid Fine

ABC News/Associated Press ^ | December 14, 2016 | By gene johnson 

A longshot bid to deny Donald Trump the presidency suffered another setback Wednesday after a federal judge rejected an effort by two Democratic electors from Washington state to avoid being fined if they ignore the results of the state's popular vote.
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said electors Bret Chiafalo and Levi Guerra had presented a case far too speculative to warrant blocking state law. The pair have said they're not sure how they'll vote, and there's nothing to indicate whether Washington would actually fine them.
Both signed pledges to vote for their party's nominee — Hillary Clinton — if she won Washington, which she did.
But they have said they might join with other so-called "Hamilton electors" from both parties to choose some other candidate when the Electoral College meets next Monday because they believe Trump is unfit for office.
Washington law states that electors who break their pledge can be fined up to $1,000. A lawyer for the pair, Sumeer Singla, asked U.S. District Judge James L. Robart to issue an injunction that would preclude the state from fining them. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...

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