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Electoral College members in Washington state file lawsuit in effort to stop Trump

SEATTLE — The Electoral College is set to seal the election for Donald Trump next Monday.

But two Washington Democratic electors, Bret Chiafalo and Levi Guerra, are now suing in federal court so all electors can cast their ballots to stop Trump without fear of being penalized by the states they live in.

"The Constitution does not provide that the states shall have the ability to penalize electors or remove electors," the lawsuit states. "Once an elector is appointed, penalizing the elector violates Article II and the First Amendment."

This comes as the CIA says it believes Russia used hacking and other tools to interfere with the election to help Trump win.

“I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it,” the president-elect said Sunday.

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Some voters were skeptical.

“Whether it's true or not, I think the consequences of either being true or not true are very serious,” said Brandon Clute.

Others were more cynical.

"I think America just needs to be single for four years. No president. Because it's pretty bad right now," said Markeyes Montgomery.

Seattle University Political Scientist Patrick Schoettmer says the Constitution gives the Electoral College a lot of discretion.

“Constitutionally speaking, they have absolute discretion; they may vote as they wish,” he said.

But the chances of doing the election over are very small. “Not without an act of Congress, and I don't see this Congress doing anything like that,” he said.