A federal judge in Virginia handed a symbolic victory to the #NeverTrump movement Monday, striking down an obscure state law that imposed criminal penalties against GOP delegates who go to the national convention and don’t vote for the winner of the primary.
Under the state law, all of Virginia’s 49 delegates would be required to vote for Donald Trump at the convention next week in Cleveland or else face 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Carroll “Beau” Correll Jr., a supporter of Sen. Ted Cruz in the presidential race, challenged the law because he refuses to vote for likely GOP nominee Mr. Trump and feared being punished by the state.
State attorneys said at a hearing last week that no one has ever been prosecuted under the delegate voting law.
In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne permanently barred the state from imposing the penalties. He said the law was impossible to enforce and conflicted with Republican Party rules.
The party rule required delegates to be awarded proportionately in all state primaries conducted prior to March 15. Virginia held its primary March 1.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump declares himself ‘law and order candidate’
Mr. Correll now won’t face prosecution for voting his conscience. But the delegate allocation as determined in the primary was unchanged, with Mr. Trump receiving 17 delegates and the other divided among candidates no longer seeking the nomination.
The Trump campaign declared the ruling a victory, saying they had fought to keep the party rules intact.
“The court has confirmed what we have said all along: Rule 16 is in effect and thus delegates, including Correll, are bound to vote in accordance with the election results,” said Don McGahn, Trump campaign attorney and former Federal Elections Commission chairman.
“The court did not buy what Curly Haugland was selling, and noted that his testimony has no support in the rule’s text and was contradicted by his own book, “Unbound.” This case puts his unbound theory to rest, and is a fatal blow to the anti-Trump agitators,” he said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.