Justice Thomas references 'Frodo Baggins' during 'electors' arguments

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas on Wednesday told a lawyer representing Colorado's electors that despite a promise to support the popular-vote winner an elector "can suddenly say, 'I'm going to vote for Frodo Baggins,'" referring to the character from the fantasy novel Lord of the Rings.

The U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday heard a dispute involving whether "electors" in the complex Electoral College system that decides the winner of U.S. presidential elections are free to disregard laws directing them to back the candidate who prevails in their state's popular vote.