Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman on Monday announced that her office won’t pursue criminal charges against Micheal Baca, the faithless elector whose protest vote for Ohio Gov. John Kasich drew national attention last year.
“The decision not to prosecute wasn’t reached lightly, and I in no way condone the elector’s reckless conduct,” Coffman, a Republican, said in a statement. “However, I am exercising my prosecutorial discretion so the individual cannot use our court system as a taxpayer-funded platform to capture more headlines and further flout the law.”
Baca, one of Colorado’s nine delegates to the Electoral College, in December broke ranks and voted for Kasich, violating state law and an oath the electors took to vote for Hillary Clinton, the winner of the state’s popular vote.
Baca was promptly replaced with an elector who ultimately voted for Clinton.
Coffman’s decision drew immediate criticism from Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, who back in December.
“I am disappointed by the decision not to prosecute the faithless elector who flagrantly violated his oath immediately after taking it,” said Williams, a Republican.
“While it is true that we worked successfully with the political parties and the courts to stop his attempt to steal the votes of 2.9 million Coloradans, the decision not to prosecute leaves Coloradans without an assurance that future electors won’t hijack the will of millions of Colorado voters.”
Baca’s vote was part of a failed national movement known as the Hamilton Electors, who had sought to persuade Republican electors across the country to vote against Donald Trump and deny him the Electoral College votes needed to become president.
Leading up to the , Williams repeatedly warned electors that state law requires them to vote for the winner of the state’s popular vote. And, he adopted new emergency policies aimed at assuring compliance.
That law — and Williams’ emergency protocols — a flurry of , the most recent of which was . Baca and some other electors have argued that America’s founders intended for Electoral College members to vote their conscience, rather than be bound to the will of the voters in their respective states.
Public officers charged with failing to fulfill their duty, a misdemeanor, can receive up to a $1,000 fine and one year in jail. Under state election code, swearing a false oath is considered perjury in the second degree, a Class 1 misdemeanor. That carries up to a $5,000 fine and 18 months in jail.
Coffman said she was committed to to strengthen state law against faithless electors to prevent a repeat of last year.