Unpledged elector
In United States presidential elections, an unpledged elector is a member of the Electoral College who has not pledged to support any particular candidate for President.[1] Presidential elections are indirect, with voters in each state choosing electors on Election Day in November, and these electors choosing the President in December. Electors today are elected in every state by popular vote, and in practice have since the 19th century almost always agreed in advance to vote for a particular candidate — that is, they are said to have been pledged to that candidate.[2] In the 20th century, however, several elections were contested by unpledged electors, who made no such promise to any candidate before the election. These anomalies largely arose over fissures within the Democratic Party over the issues of civil rights and segregation.
