Colorado Department of State v. Baca
E41904
Colorado Department of State v. Baca is a U.S. federal court case addressing whether states can remove or sanction presidential electors who refuse to vote in accordance with their state's popular vote in the Electoral College.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal court case
→
constitutional law case → election law case → |
| areaOfLaw |
United States constitutional law
→
United States election law → |
| background |
arose from actions of Colorado presidential electors in the 2016 Electoral College vote
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|
| circuit |
Tenth Circuit
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|
| citation |
935 F.3d 887
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|
| constitutionalBasisOfHolding |
Electors have a federal constitutional right to exercise discretion in casting their Electoral College votes
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|
| constitutionalProvisionInvoked |
Article II of the United States Constitution
→
First Amendment to the United States Constitution → Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution → |
| country |
United States
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|
| court |
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
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|
| decisionDate |
2019-08-20
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|
| holding |
the Tenth Circuit held that Colorado could not remove a presidential elector for casting a vote contrary to the state’s popular vote
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|
| issue |
scope of state authority to direct and control electors’ votes
→
whether a state may remove or sanction a presidential elector who does not vote in accordance with the state’s popular vote → |
| jurisdiction |
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
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|
| legalSubject |
Electoral College
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Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution → U.S. Constitution Article II → faithless electors → presidential electors → state power over electors → |
| location |
Colorado
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|
| opinionBy |
Judge Carolyn B. McHugh
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|
| originatedFrom |
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
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|
| panelJudge |
Judge Carolyn B. McHugh
→
Judge Jerome A. Holmes → Judge Mary Beck Briscoe → |
| partyRoleOfMichaelBaca |
Democratic Party presidential elector from Colorado in 2016
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|
| petitioner |
Colorado Department of State
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|
| relatedCase |
Chiafalo v. Washington
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Ray v. Blair → |
| relatedTo |
2016 United States presidential election
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|
| respondent |
Michael Baca
→
other Colorado presidential electors → |
| result |
judgment in favor of elector Michael Baca on key constitutional question
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|
| stateActionChallenged |
Colorado’s removal of Baca as an elector and nullification of his attempted vote
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|
| subjectMatter |
nullification of electoral votes
→
removal of electors → state enforcement of elector pledges → |
| subsequentHistory |
Tenth Circuit judgment effectively superseded by the Supreme Court’s decision in Chiafalo v. Washington
→
certiorari granted sub nom. Colorado Department of State v. Baca and consolidated into Chiafalo v. Washington at the U.S. Supreme Court → |
| supremeCourtCitation |
140 S. Ct. 2316 (via Chiafalo v. Washington)
→
|
| supremeCourtDisposition |
U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit’s reasoning in Chiafalo v. Washington
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|
| triggeringEvent |
Michael Baca attempted to cast an electoral vote for John Kasich instead of Hillary Clinton
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|
| yearDecided |
2019
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|
Referenced by (1)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Chiafalo v. Washington
→
|
isRelatedCaseTo |