Colorado Republican Attorney General Cynthia Coffman will not prosecute Micheal Baca, a former member of the Electoral College who was stripped of his position when he cast a vote for Ohio Gov. John Kasich instead of Hillary Clinton during a chaotic day in December. Coffman, who has said she is exploring whether there is a path for her to run for governor, says she doesn’t want Baca to use Colorado’s court system as a platform to make more headlines. Colorado GOP Secretary of State Wayne Williams, who asked Coffman to investigate Baca, said he is “disappointed” the AG won’t pursue the case. On Dec. 19, Baca became the first elector in Colorado history not to cast a ballot during a ceremony at the Capitol for the presidential candidate who won the state’s popular vote. Baca was part of a movement known as the Hamilton Electors who believe they have the authority under the U.S. Constitution to vote their conscience as national electors. They hatched a plan to try and thwart Donald Trump from the White House by trying to convince enough electors around the country to vote for a more palatable Republican.
The Hamilton Elector plan did not pan out, and Colorado has a law on its books saying electors must vote for whoever wins the state’s popular vote for president. In 2016, that was Clinton.
When Baca voted for Kasich, Colorado’s Williams removed him as an elector. The Republican Secretary of State then asked Coffman to investigate Baca, whom he calls a “faithless elector.” The AG’s office did launch an inquiry. A state investigator tried to question some of Colorado’s nine other other national electors in mid-April. At the time two of them told The Colorado Independent they would not cooperate in the investigation.
Full Article: Colorado AG won’t prosecute the Hamilton Elector who voted for Kasich not Clinton | The Colorado Independent.