A Colorado elector is being referred to the state attorney general’s office for investigation.
As the Denver Post reports, Michael Baca voted Monday for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich instead of the state’s popular vote winner, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In a press release from the Deputy Colorado Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert noted that Baca took an oath saying he would vote for the presidential candidate who won Colorado and then “cast a ballot contrary to the oath.”
Baca was a leader of a group called the “Hamilton Electors” made up of predominantly Democratic Electoral College members who joined with Republicans to elect someone other than Republican Donald Trump, as the Denver Post reports, but the movement crumbled, with just two Republicans voting against Trump, who easily garnered the 270 electoral votes needed to be elected.
After Baca cast his ballot for Kasich, he was replaced with another elector who voted for Clinton, but Baca’s attorney challenged his removal, saying the secretary of state lacked the authority to do so under the Constitution.
Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams warned rogue electors last week that they could face misdemeanor charges if they did not vote for Clinton.
In the press release, Staiert said Baca’s vote for Kasich violated a statute that requires each presidential elector to vote for the presidential candidate … “who received the highest number of votes at the preceding general election in this state.”
