Judge Robert Krabill of Tacoma said Washington's secretary of State was within her rights to levy $1,000 fines against Levi Guerra, Esther John and Peter "Bret" Chiafolo, Democratic electors who voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell over Clinton in the presidential election.
All three electors, along with a fourth who voted for a Native American leader, signed a pledge to vote for Clinton if she won Washington's electoral votes. Clinton took 57 percent of the vote in the reliably liberal state in November.
After the electors broke their pledges, Secretary of State Kim Wyman (R) said she would impose the fines under a law passed in the late 1970s to discourage "faithless electors."
