Is There a Problem of Presidential Electors Voting in An Unexpected Way (Faithless Electors)?
Among the 21,915 electoral votes cast in the 55 presidential elections in the 217 years between 1789 and 2004, there have been only 11 cases when a presidential elector has cast a vote for President in an unexpected way. None has ever affected the outcome of a presidential election. Of these only Samuel Miles in 1796 might have had reason to believe, at the time he voted, that his vote might affect the outcome of the election in the Electoral College. Nine of the 11 were “grand-standing” electors and there was one accidental electoral vote. Presidential electors are typically long-standing supporters of their political party and presidential candidate; however, there is always a potential problem in this area. Nineteen states have various laws on this topic. North Carolinas law, for example, takes a remedial approach by providing that if a presidential elector fails to vote as pledged, this action constitutes resignation from the office of the elector and cancels the vote cast by the f
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- Is There a Problem of Presidential Electors Voting in An Unexpected Way (Faithless Electors)?
