Colorado official warns of 'chaos' in response to lawsuit by electors

On December 19, members of the Electoral College will officially cast their presidential votes.

In a last-ditch effort to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president, two Democratic electors, Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich, "...filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a state law that requires them to vote for the winner of the state's popular vote," the Denver Post reported on Tuesday.

Nemanich commented to the Colorado Springs Gazette they "...hope that if the law is struck down, Colorado's electors can join forces with other Democrats pledged to Clinton and disaffected Republicans pledged to Trump to find an alternative Republican acceptable to both sides..."

See recounts of the 2016 election

Politico reports that Colorado's Attorney General, Cynthia Coffman, has filed a sharply worded response to the lawsuit, stating, in part, "This Court should not countenance Plaintiffs' attempt to dismantle the Electoral College from within. It should reject as an affront to this nation's model of democracy this effort to disenfranchise millions of Coloradans by usurping their collective choice of candidates and replacing it with Plaintiffs' own personal opinions about who is fit for the office of President. Holding otherwise would cause chaos."

Coffman adds, "This Court should decline Plaintiffs' invitation to alter the status quo by converting the popular vote into a mere advisory opinion that presidential electors are free to ignore."

In the days since Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 presidential election, there has been a great deal of talk about the Electoral College.

Millions have even signed a petition asking the electors to uphold the popular vote and declare Hillary Clinton the victor.

However, there's almost no chance of the petition succeeding.

The website for the Electoral College notes, "...it is rare for Electors to disregard the popular vote by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party's candidate...Throughout our history as a nation, more than 99 percent of Electors have voted as pledged."