There are 538 people with the fate of the election in their hands, and they can now seek counsel from high-powered lawyers.
WASHINGTON ― A new organization is offering pro bono legal assistance to any Electoral College member who decides to break with the will of the people in his or her state, in hopes of derailing President-elect Donald Trump before he is sworn in.
The vote to determine who will become president is set to take place on Dec. 19. Christopher Suprun, a paramedic who lives in Texas and is one of the 538 members of the Electoral College, announced this week that he will not cast his vote for the president-elect.
Larry Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor heading the project, told The Huffington Post that the law firm Durie Tangri handles intake and may wind up representing Suprun. Durie Tangri generally plans to offer confidential advice to anonymous electors, but Lessing said Suprun’s case was different.
“He came to us just as he published his piece in the Times,” he said. “Our assumption is we’re talking to people who want to be anonymous, so he’s an exception. The whole community is going to step in and do what they can to help him.”
Lessig, who has been a prolific online fundraiser in the past, said his group is raising funds in addition to counting on some substantial early commitments.
“The motivation was the recognition that there were going to be a lot of electors who were considering what we believe is their constitutional right, to vote their conscience. Whether it makes sense to do it depends on who else is doing it,” Lessig said, adding that Durie Tangri would be willing to tell electors how many other electors had committed to voting against Trump.
The law firm also plans to partner with groups doing work on the ground.
Trump needs 270 electors to support him when they gather in state capitals around the country later this month. He won enough states to give him the support of 306, so anti-Trump forces need to persuade 36 more electors. That effort is underway, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich being named as a potential alternative. Trump annihilated Kasich in the Republican primary.
More: Law Firm Offering Free Legal Advice To Electors Who Don't Want To Vote For Trump
Sounds like a plan - but December 19 is rapidly approaching.
WASHINGTON ― A new organization is offering pro bono legal assistance to any Electoral College member who decides to break with the will of the people in his or her state, in hopes of derailing President-elect Donald Trump before he is sworn in.
The vote to determine who will become president is set to take place on Dec. 19. Christopher Suprun, a paramedic who lives in Texas and is one of the 538 members of the Electoral College, announced this week that he will not cast his vote for the president-elect.
Larry Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor heading the project, told The Huffington Post that the law firm Durie Tangri handles intake and may wind up representing Suprun. Durie Tangri generally plans to offer confidential advice to anonymous electors, but Lessing said Suprun’s case was different.
“He came to us just as he published his piece in the Times,” he said. “Our assumption is we’re talking to people who want to be anonymous, so he’s an exception. The whole community is going to step in and do what they can to help him.”
Lessig, who has been a prolific online fundraiser in the past, said his group is raising funds in addition to counting on some substantial early commitments.
“The motivation was the recognition that there were going to be a lot of electors who were considering what we believe is their constitutional right, to vote their conscience. Whether it makes sense to do it depends on who else is doing it,” Lessig said, adding that Durie Tangri would be willing to tell electors how many other electors had committed to voting against Trump.
The law firm also plans to partner with groups doing work on the ground.
Trump needs 270 electors to support him when they gather in state capitals around the country later this month. He won enough states to give him the support of 306, so anti-Trump forces need to persuade 36 more electors. That effort is underway, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich being named as a potential alternative. Trump annihilated Kasich in the Republican primary.
More: Law Firm Offering Free Legal Advice To Electors Who Don't Want To Vote For Trump
Sounds like a plan - but December 19 is rapidly approaching.