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What are faithless electors in the Electoral College? (2024)
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.[1] "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.[2][3]
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."[4] In 38 states and the District of Columbia, electors are bound by law to vote for their party's nominee, while 12 states have no such law.[5] In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of state laws that punish or replace faithless electors in Chiafalo v. Washington.[6]
The consequences of violating faithless elector laws differ across states. In some states, faithless electors are replaced by alternates, and their votes do not count towards the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency. In other states, faithless electors face punishment, such as a fine, for breaking their pledge.[5] 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."[7]
Political parties try to nominate loyal electors who can be counted on to support the party's nominee.[8] 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.[4] For an overview of the role of faithless electors in the 2016 presidential election, please click here. There were no faithless electors in the 2020 presidential election.[5]
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.[9]
See also
- What is the Electoral College?
- What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
- Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?
- What does the Electoral Count Reform Act mean for the 2024 presidential election?
- What is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
Footnotes
- ↑ In Maine and Nebraska, the winner of the popular vote in the state receives two electoral votes. Candidates receive an additional electoral vote for each congressional district they win.
- ↑ The New York Times, "‘Faithless Electors’ Could Tip the 2020 Election. Will the Supreme Court Stop Them?", October 14, 2019
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Tallying Up the ‘Faithless Electors’," May 12, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Emory Law Journal, "Faithless or Faithful Electors? An Analogy to Disobedient but Conscientious Jurors," accessed August 24, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 FairVote, "Faithless Elector State Laws," July 2024
- ↑ NPR, "Supreme Court Rules State 'Faithless Elector' Laws Constitutional," July 6, 2020
- ↑ FairVote, "Our Story," accessed August 24, 2024
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Electoral College," March 21, 2023
- ↑ FairVote, "Presidential Elections," accessed August 24, 2024
