Colorado secretary of State recommends charges for ‘faithless’ elector

Colorado’s secretary of State has referred a “faithless” elector to the state attorney general for investigation.

Instead of voting for Colorado winner Hillary Clinton when electors met Monday, elector Michael Baca wrote in Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s name. A Denver judge replaced Baca with an alternate elector who backed Clinton.

Baca was a member of the “Hamilton Electors,” a group of mostly Democratic electors who hoped to spoil President-elect Trump’s chances at the Electoral College. The group considered Kasich as a compromise pick that would satisfy GOP electors, although Kasich rejected the offer. 

{mosads}Colorado’s deputy secretary of State Suzanne Staiert said in a Wednesday statement that Baca was in “violation” of the an oath he had taken to vote for the candidate who won the state, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Clinton won Colorado with more than 48 percent of the vote. All nine of the state’s electors eventually cast a vote for the Democratic nominee after the rogue elector was replaced.

According to the statement, electors had been warned that breaking with Clinton could subject them to misdemeanor charges.