A U.S. appeals court in Denver said electoral college members can vote for the presidential candidate of their choice and aren’t bound by the popular vote in their states.
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the Colorado secretary of state violated the U.S. Constitution in 2016 when he removed an elector and nullified his vote because the elector refused to cast his ballot for Democrat Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote.
It could influence future cases nationwide in the unlikely event that enough electoral college members strayed from their states’ popular vote to affect the outcome of a presidential election, constitutional scholars said.The electoral college system is established in the Constitution. When voters cast a ballot for president, they are actually choosing members of the electoral college, called electors, who are pledged to that presidential candidate. The electors then choose the president.
The elector at the center of the case, Micheal Baca, was part of a group known as “Hamilton electors” who tried to convince electors who were pledged to Clinton or Donald Trump to unite behind a consensus candidate to deny Trump the presidency. Baca’s attorneys said the U.S. Supreme Court will probably hear the case because it conflicts with a decision from Washington state’s Supreme Court. That court said in May that electors could be fined for not casting ballots for the popular-vote winner.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Property owners in Denver neighborhood vote to keep its controversial nameProperty owners in the well-known Denver neighborhood of Stapleton were asked to vote this summer on whether to change the name of their community named for a onetime member the Ku Klux Klan. They voted 65% to keep its current name and 35% to change it.
Read more »
Faithless elector: A court ruling just changed how we pick our presidentThe decision could give a single elector the power to decide the outcome of a presidential election — if the popular vote results in an apparent Electoral College tie.
Read more »
Federal appeals court rules state electors may vote for who they wantA federal appeals court has ruled that state electors do not have to cast their ballot for the winner of the state's popular vote. NBC's Pete Williams has more details on the ruling and what this means for future elections.
Read more »
New York City can limit art vendors in popular parks: appeals courtNew York City rules limiting the number of art and book vendors in four popular ...
Read more »
https://people.comGet the latest news about celebrities, royals, music, TV, and real people. Find exclusive content, including photos and videos, on PEOPLE.com.
Read more »