What are faithless electors in the Electoral College? (2020)

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In each state, political parties nominate a slate of electors, or potential members of the Electoral College. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, a political party's slate of electors becomes part of the Electoral College when the party's nominee wins a plurality of the vote in the state. "Faithless elector" is a term used to describe a member of the Electoral College who does not vote for his or her party's nominee for president or vice president.

One argument against the use of the term "faithless elector" is that it suggests that all electors are legally required to vote for their party's nominee. An alternative term is "independent elector." In 33 states and the District of Columbia, electors are bound by law to vote for their party's nominee, while 17 states have no such law. In Chiafalo v. Washington, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of state laws that punish or replace faithless electors.

The consequences of violating faithless elector laws differ across states. In 14 states, faithless electors are replaced by alternates, and their votes do not count towards the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency. In five states, faithless electors face punishment, such as a fine, for breaking their pledge. Please click here for a catalogue of state laws on faithless electors published by FairVote, an organization that describes its mission as "to make every vote and every voice count in every election through structural electoral reforms."

Political parties try to nominate loyal electors who can be counted on to support the party's nominee. Historically, faithless electors have been uncommon, and they have never changed the outcome of a presidential election. According to FairVote, out of 23,507 electoral votes counted throughout U.S. history, only 90 electors did not vote for their party's presidential nominee. Among these 90 electors, 63 of them voted for a different candidate after the death of their party's nominee.

During the 2016 presidential race, there were seven faithless electors, representing the highest number in a century. For an overview of the role of faithless electors in the 2016 presidential election, please click here.

Faithless electors most often vote for a candidate who is not on the ballot rather than the opposing party's nominee. The sole instance in which a faithless elector voted for the opposing party's nominee occurred in 1796.

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• Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
• U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

See also

• Electoral College
• Chiafalo v. Washington

Related articles

• SCOTUSblog, "Opinion analysis: Court upholds “faithless elector” laws"
• New York Times, "How Does the Electoral College Work and Why Does It Matter?"
• WITF, "Pa. Dem lawmakers propose measure to punish faithless electoral college voters"