A delegate in the US State of Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit in an attempt to avoid voting for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, at the Republican National Convention (RNC) next month.
The delegate, Carroll Correll Jr. of Winchester, Virginia, says he will not vote for Trump because he believes the billionaire businessman is unfit to serve as president.
He argued in the suit that being forced to vote against his conscience is a violation of his constitutional rights.
Correll filed the lawsuit Friday in a federal court in Richmond. He seeks judgment on behalf of all delegates to the Republican and Democratic conventions.
"Correll, like many other Republicans, refuses to cast his first-ballot vote - or any other vote - for Virginia primary winner Donald Trump because Correll believes that Trump is unfit to serve as president of the United States. Yet, if he does not vote for Trump, he faces criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment," Correll's attorneys write in the lawsuit.
Some Trump opponents argue that state laws requiring delegates to vote for a specific candidate are unconstitutional, because they violate the First Amendment's protection of the right to assemble.
Trump's campaign has been marked by controversy from the beginning, including disparaging remarks about women, Mexican immigrants and Muslims.
The real estate mogul secured the majority of delegates needed to claim the presidential nomination last month, but he continues to face opposition from many Republican officials and activists who believe he could damage the party for years to come and may cost the Republicans the White House.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was declared the presumptive nominee earlier this month after reaching the required amount of delegates.
Both Trump and Clinton, however, are viewed unfavorably by most Americans and neither candidate prompts much excitement among the electorate, according to a recent polls.
Trump and Clinton are viewed unfavorably by nearly 60 percent of US voters, while fewer than 30 percent would be excited by either candidate’s presidency, according to a CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday.
The poll also found that 56 percent would be afraid and also feel embarrassed if Trump is elected, while 46 percent feel the same about Clinton.
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