Colorado elections chief: Rogue electors could face perjury charge

The Politico ^ | December 14, 2016 | Kyle Cheney

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Colorado’s election chief is warning that presidential electors who vote for someone other than Hillary Clinton — the state's popular vote winner — could face a perjury charge.

The warning from Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, increases the peril for a group of Colorado’s Democratic presidential electors who have signaled they may reject Clinton as part of a long-shot national strategy to block the election of Donald Trump. They were already facing the prospect of an election law violation that carries the potential for a small fine and a year of jail time.

Williams told POLITICO in a phone interview that he intends to administer an oath to electors prior to Monday’s official meeting of the Electoral College. Any electors who decide to oppose Clinton won’t just be violating the election law that requires them to support Colorado’s popular vote winner – they’ll be violating their oath as well.

“If Elector A writes down Bernie Sanders or Ted Cruz or anyone other than Hillary Clinton, they immediately cease to be an elector and they’re replaced,” he said. “The difference here is you have perjured yourself.”

“If you swear the oath and then immediately violate it,” he continued, “I think there’s a basis for a more severe criminal penalty.”

Williams noted that he’s not a prosecutor so he couldn’t say whether electors might be charged with felony perjury – a more serious charge that carries a punishment of up to six years in prison and a $500,000 fine – or misdemeanor perjury, which carries a maximum of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine....

[snarkytart]

No, that’s not it. They’re trying to set some sort of trend to get the Republican Electors to go along and not vote for Trump.