Justice Clarence Thomas name-drops Frodo Baggins during SCOTUS oral arguments
The case being discussed was about the Electoral College and whether presidential electors can disregard laws that bind them to backing the candidate who won their state’s popular vote.
A lawyer for one of the so-called “faithless electors,” was in the middle of making his argument for allowing the electors to break with the popular vote — when Thomas decided to bring up J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy trilogy.
“The elector who had promised to vote for the winning candidate could suddenly say, you now, I’m going to vote for Frodo Baggins. I really like Frodo Baggins. And you’re saying, under your system, you can’t do anything about that,” Thomas said.
The attorney, Jason Harrow, was quick to point out that the hobbit hero isn’t a human.
“Your honor, I think there is something to be done, because that would be a vote for a non-person. No matter how big a fan many people are of Frodo Baggins,” Harrow responded, according to CNN.
“I do think the important point is that the framers hashed out these competing concerns,” Harrow added. “They understood the stakes and they said among these competing hypotheticals, electors are best placed to make the ultimate selection. That hasn’t changed.”
Baggins made another appearance during closing rebuttal from opposing counsel Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is defending the state’s move to kick out an elector who defied pledges to vote for Hillary Clinton after she won the state in 2016.
“My friends on the other side have failed to offer any viable theory on how to address the spectacle of a bribed elector, an elector who votes for Frodo Baggins, or one who would perpetrate a bait-and-switch on the people of the state,” Weiser said.
With Post wires
