Is the Electoral College Legally Bound by the Popular Vote

In 1952, the Supreme Court ruled that state parties may require voters to commit to voting for their party`s nominee before being certified as voters. The dispute arose out of the „Dixiecrat Revolt” that led to Strom Thurmond`s 1948 presidential candidacy under the banner of the States Rights Party, which received 39 electoral votes from President Harry S. Truman, the party`s nominee. In Washington state, three so-called „disloyal” voters voted for Colin Powell instead of Hillary Clinton in 2016, violating a promise under state law to vote for the candidate who received the most votes in their state. The state imposed fines for their defiance, and in May 2019, the Washington Supreme Court upheld the fines, ruling that the Constitution gave the state the power to fine voters who violate their promise. 1 – 2000 Election: Washington, D.C. Voter Barbara Lett-Simmons, who campaigned for Democrats Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, did not vote to protest the lack of congressional representation in Washington D.C. [40] Lett-Simmons` abstention, the first since 1864, was in protest against what Lett-Simmons called the „colonial status” of the Federal District. [40] Lett-Simmons described his blank ballot as an act of civil disobedience, not an act of disloyal voter; Lett-Simmons supported Gore and would have voted for Gore if she thought he had a chance to win. [40] But even if such promises made by Electoral College candidates are not legally enforceable because they violate an alleged constitutional freedom of the voter under the Constitution, art. II, § 1, to vote at will in the electoral college [emphasis added], it would not follow that the requirement of a promise in the primary election is unconstitutional.

7th election, 1828: Seven of nine electors in Georgia refuse to vote for Vice Presidential candidate John C. Calhoun; instead, they voted for William Smith. [3] In addition, three other voters attempted to vote against their promises, but their votes were declared invalid: However, under various scenarios, the leaders of several Republican-dominated legislatures could use their federal constitutional authority to appoint separate voters lists, causing conflicts with presumed loyal voters certified by state executive agencies. This could happen in key states like Pennsylvania, where the governor is a Democrat but the legislature is controlled by Republicans. Legislators could, for example, claim a fraudulent referendum that renders state-certified voters unrepresentative of the legitimate plebiscite. Or they could argue that the vote count is progressing too slowly to allow the state to meet the December deadline. Undoubtedly, there would be court battles – see Bush v. Gore (2000). In the 2020 elections, there were a total of 165[3][4] cases of embezzlement, including 90 for the president and 75 for the vice president. They never held an election,[4] and almost all voted for third-party candidates or non-candidates instead of transferring their support to a major opponent. There were 63 unfaithful electors in 1872 when Horace Greeley died between election day and the Electoral College meeting, but Ulysses S.

Grant had already earned enough to be re-elected. In the 1836 election, the entire 23-member Virginia electoral delegation faithfully abstained[5] and voted for the successful Democratic vice presidential nominee, Richard M. Johnson. The loss of Virginia`s support caused Johnson to fall one vote short of the majority, leading to the launch of the vice presidential race for the U.S. Senate in a conditional election.[3] The presidential election itself was not controversial because Virginia voters voted for Democratic presidential candidate Martin Van Buren as promised. The Senate nevertheless elected Johnson as vice president after a vote on party lines. There is no federal law or constitutional provision requiring voters to vote for the party that appointed them, and over the years a number of voters have voted against the orders of voters. In 2004, a Minnesota Democratic Party candidate voted for John Edwards, John Kerry`s running mate — probably an accident. Voters are generally chosen by the political party based on their allegiance to the party, and many are party leaders and are therefore unlikely to vote differently than for their party`s candidate. The Electoral College consists of a total of 538 members, one for each U.S. Senator and Representative, and three other electors representing the District of Columbia.

Each state has a number of electoral votes equal to the total number of its delegation to Congress, and each state legislature is free to determine the method it will use to select its own electors. 1 – 1820 election: William Plumer must vote for Democratic-Republican presidential candidate James Monroe, who did not seek re-election, but instead voted for John Quincy Adams, who did not run for office. Some historians claim that Plumer wanted George Washington to be the only unanimous choice, or that he wanted to draw attention to his friend Adams as a potential candidate. These allegations are disputed. [25] Plumer also voted for Richard Rush, not Daniel D. Tompkins, as promised. It is rare for voters to ignore the referendum by voting for someone other than their party`s candidate. Voters usually hold leadership positions in their party or have been chosen to recognize their years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our history as a nation, more than 99% of voters voted as promised. 1 – 1972 election: Virginia voter Roger MacBride, promised to Republicans Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, votes for Libertarian candidates John Hospers and Tonie Nathan.

MacBride`s running mate for Nathan was the first vote for a woman in U.S. history. [37] Voters are usually chosen and appointed by a political party or the party`s presidential candidate, and are usually party members with a reputation for high loyalty to the party and its elected candidate.