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Harvard law professor offers legal support to faithless electors
Hotair ^ | 12/06/2016 | John Sexton

Posted on 12/06/2016 2:22:21 PM PST by SeekAndFind

Harvard University law professor Larry Lessig has arranged legal support for any faithless electors who decide they will not cast their vote for Donald Trump when electors gather on December 19th. His effort is also aimed at providing a place for anonymous back-channel communication to take place about the ongoing effort. Politico reports:

Larry Lessig says his new effort, which he calls “The Electors Trust,” will provide free counsel to electors, provided by the midsize firm, Durie Tangri, whose partner Mark Lemley is a longtime associate of Lessig’s.

More significantly, Lessig said, the Trust will offer a platform – with guaranteed anonymity – for electors to strategize about stopping Trump from taking the White House. It’s a platform, he said, that could help electors coordinate to determine whether they’ve gathered enough support to stop Trump from winning the presidency.

“It makes no sense to be elector number five who comes out against Trump. But it might make sense to be elector 38,” Lessig said in a phone interview.

So far there are 8 Democrats who have vowed to vote for someone other than Hillary Clinton as a way to entice GOP electors to also buck the system and change their votes. But only one GOP elector has joined them. As Allahpundit pointed out yesterday, his name is Christopher Suprun and he’s an elector from Texas.

In order to prevent Trump from becoming president, the group organizing this effort would need to find 36 more GOP electors willing to break ranks. And they’d need to do it before December 19th when the electors will gather to cast their votes. That works out to nearly 3 defectors a day between now and then.

It’s simply not going to happen and, contra what Lessig suggests, this would not get easier as the numbers climb it would get harder. It’s easy to find protest votes of conscience for things that everyone knows are going to happen anyway. What’s hard is finding the person who realizes their decision go against party could actually change the outcome of an election. That’s a lot of pressure. If you’re not 110% certain about doing it then you probably take a step back at that point.

Plus, as the numbers get closer to the needed 37 everyone involved realizes they have the power to stop it from happening by simply coming back to the GOP fold. The pressure from friends, family and party would be tremendous at that point. Some of the defectors would surely recant, making it necessary to find new defectors. Meanwhile the Democrats who defected from Hillary have nothing at stake and at some point the GOP defector electors would realize this and begin to have second thoughts.

Trump would have to do something uniquely and truly awful in the next 13 days to breathe any life into this effort. Democrats shouldn’t hold their breath.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: constitution; constructionism; constructionist; elections; electors; harvard; scotus; trump

1 posted on 12/06/2016 2:22:21 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Could someone sue him for meddling in the election?


2 posted on 12/06/2016 2:24:26 PM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: SeekAndFind

Compleat lay random aside: should we call the Democrats the Teat Party?


3 posted on 12/06/2016 2:25:54 PM PST by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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To: SeekAndFind

Looks like he’ll get his moneys-worth.


4 posted on 12/06/2016 2:26:50 PM PST by Zarro (Oh, we don't call them the "MSM" any longer; they are now the "Basket of Detestables")
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To: SeekAndFind

Sigh. this whole fake GOP EV revolt meme being genned up by the fake main stream news media is the exact same fake news meme the fake main stream media genned up during the GOP convention: for weeks they pounded the “delegates are revolting against Trump”. Naturally, nothing came of it and the GOP convention came off with a hitch. Same will be the case on 12/19 with the EV vote.


5 posted on 12/06/2016 2:27:51 PM PST by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: Buckeye McFrog
Could someone sue him for meddling in the election?

Or send him a copy of the letters that have been circulated which threaten faith-FUL electors?

6 posted on 12/06/2016 2:30:37 PM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: catnipman

I think you’re spot on.


7 posted on 12/06/2016 2:33:55 PM PST by Gator113 (~DRAIN THE SWAMP~ ~ LOCK HER UP ~ ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~ ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~ ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~)
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To: SeekAndFind
Believe it not, Larry was actually a candidate for president for a month or two in 2015.

He should have stayed in.

People who wanted to vote for a balding professor from Boston named Larry but couldn't bring themselves to pull the lever for Kotlikoff might have given Lessig their votes.


8 posted on 12/06/2016 2:34:11 PM PST by x
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To: Buckeye McFrog

“Could someone sue him for meddling in the election?”

I’m wondering why this isn’t illegal. It’s like aiding and abetting a criminal act.


9 posted on 12/06/2016 2:35:16 PM PST by MaxistheBest
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To: catnipman

IMHO all of this is happening because the left realize this was no ordinary election, and is not just a hiccup in their heretofore assumed march to perpetual political power. Those who have been paying attention realize that it’s all different now, and they can’t even depend upon their usual factions. They are now recognized as the empty narcissistic elitists that they are, and they can’t stand the idea of being irrelevant.


10 posted on 12/06/2016 2:37:44 PM PST by pieceofthepuzzle
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To: SeekAndFind

If they overturn the election, there will be Civil War. And these idiots have no idea how badly they will lose.

Just a prediction. I’m too old and unhealthy to fight, so not a threat. Again, just a prediction.


11 posted on 12/06/2016 2:53:04 PM PST by piytar (http://www.truthrevolt.org/videos/bill-whittle-number-one-bullet)
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To: SeekAndFind

These people are manufacturing a coup.

The response should be appropriate.


12 posted on 12/06/2016 3:10:53 PM PST by ought-six (Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: SeekAndFind
And this just in....Harvard Law professor claims U.S. Constitution was illegally ratified and is unconstitutional. The professor goes on to say that, since since King John did not voluntarily sign Magna Carta, but was forced at sword point to sign the document, it is, in accordance with UCC, an invalid contract.

In other news....Harvard University Astrophysics has declared itself a "sanctuary" for extraterrestrial aliens who've entered the country illegally...../humor

13 posted on 12/06/2016 3:13:01 PM PST by captain_dave
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To: piytar

If they overturn the election, there will be Civil War. And these idiots have no idea how badly they will lose.

Just a prediction. I’m too old and unhealthy to fight, so not a threat. Again, just a prediction.


I almost want it to happen. almost.

Your right, there would be a shooting war. That is a guarantee.


14 posted on 12/06/2016 3:33:30 PM PST by hillarys cankles
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To: SeekAndFind

This libs are so freakin’ desperate.


15 posted on 12/06/2016 3:34:32 PM PST by quesney
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To: captain_dave

The only way that Clinton will win the electoral voters over is to suspiciously remove every single one of them and replace them with paid shills of her choice. Stop all the stupidity of recounts, she lost and now is pushing the recount via Stein.


16 posted on 12/06/2016 3:36:32 PM PST by DaveA37
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To: SeekAndFind

Just another example of how our “educators” hate the country and want to make it a socialist utopia. These are the people who are supposed to be teaching our young but are instead fostering distrust and hate of the country and its founding documents. As you can see from the reaction of all the snowflakes after the election, they are having a lot of success at the detriment to our country’s future.


17 posted on 12/06/2016 3:37:13 PM PST by falcon99
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To: SeekAndFind

I wonder if all the Republican Electors can file a class action “John Doe” lawsuit to include all interfering people, including this lawyer and any idiot that emails, calls or bothers them in any way. Then they can just add in names as they appear.


18 posted on 12/12/2016 2:02:25 PM PST by \/\/ayne (I regret that I have but one subscription cancellation notice to give to my local newspaper.)
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