Hamilton Elector, Micheal Baca, Got The Boot

On Monday, as members of the Electoral College gather in their respective states to cast their ballots for president and vice president, one of the leaders of the Hamilton Electors was reportedly replaced. Colorado Democratic elector Michael Baca was removed from his duties as an elector after he refused to cast his ballot for Hillary Clinton, according to reports, and he was swiftly replaced by an alternate. Ultimately, Colorado's nine Electoral College votes went to Clinton.

It wasn't exactly surprising that Baca refused to cast his ballot for the Democratic presidential nominee. As one of the most prominent members of the Hamilton Electors, a group of Democratic electors devoted to convincing Republican electors to vote for someone who wasn't Donald Trump, he had publicly spoken about voting for an alternative Republican. (Yes, the Democratic-backed group worked by defecting from Clinton and trying to get GOP Electoral College members to follow suit).

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, in the first round of voting, eight of Colorado's nine electors cast their ballot for Clinton. Brian Eason of the Denver Post reported that Baca voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, according to what he had been told by Baca's fellow electors. According to Brandon Rittman, a politics reporter at the Denver NBC affiliate, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williamson will refer Baca for possible prosecution.

Baca was not the only Hamilton Elector who voted (or attempted to vote) as a faithless elector. Two people who identified as members of the Hamilton Electors were part of the four Washington state faithless electors, according to a report from an NBC affiliate in western Washington. Although faithless electors in Washington state can be fined up to $1,000 for not voting for their party's candidate, they are not replaced and their votes are still counted. Ultimately, only eight of Washington state's 12 electoral votes went to Clinton.

Even when it was looking like Trump would pass the 270 threshold, Baca tried to remain optimistic. A Fox affiliate in Denver reported that he simply said, "We'll see what happens at the end of the day."