The lawsuit is part of an effort to undermine similar laws in 28 other states, including several states where Republican electors have expressed concerns about Donald Trump but are legally obligated to support him. | AP Photo Washington state presidential electors file third lawsuit in anti-Trump effort

A third lawsuit has been filed by Democratic presidential electors leading a long-shot effort intended to stop Donald Trump from winning the presidency.

Two Washington state electors, P. Bret Chiafalo and Levi Guerra, filed a little-noticed suit in federal court Thursday intended to overturn a state law that forces them to support the winner of the statewide popular vote when the Electoral College meets on Dec. 19. It’s part of an effort to undermine similar laws in 28 other states, including several states where Republican electors have expressed concerns about Trump but are legally obligated to support him.


Chiafalo and Guerra join two Colorado Democratic electors and a California Democratic elector in suing to overturn their states’ laws. The two Washington electors, like their counterparts, argue that they can’t constitutionally be forced to vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, since the Founding Fathers intended the members of the Electoral College to vote freely.

“Plaintiffs may vote for a consensus candidate other than Clinton or Trump upon whom electors from both parties and along the ideological spectrum can agree,” the pair argues in a brief filed by attorney Sumeer Singla. “And they are and should be free to do so if their goal is to exercise their duty as electors to prevent the unqualified Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence from ascending to the highest offices in the United States.”

The matter is set to be heard Wednesday at 1 p.m. local time.

Chiafalo and Guerra are members of a group called “Hamilton Electors” that is seeking to convince Republican members of the Electoral College to reject Trump and agree on a consensus Republican alternative. They’re lobbying to persuade at least 37 Republican electors to join them, the minimum they need to block Trump from winning the Electoral College and send election to the House of Representatives.

The 538 members of the Electoral College are slated to meet in their respective state capitals on Dec. 19 at noon. Trump won the popular vote in states that include 306 electoral votes, while Clinton won in states that include 232 electoral votes. The threshold needed to become president is 270, which is why Democrats are working to convince at least 37 Republicans to reject Trump. So far, only one Republican electors has publicly committed to do so – Texas’ Chris Suprun.

Two other electors – Texas’ Art Sisneros and Georgia’s Baoky Vu – have raise concerns about Trump, but both have pledged to resign from the Electoral College, making way for pro-Trump alternates to fill in, rather than cast their votes.