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NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT.....

n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
edited October 2004 in General Discussion
Must electors vote for the candidate who won their State's popular vote?

There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories -- electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties.

No Legal Requirement
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate:

ARIZONA - 8 Electoral Votes
ARKANSAS - 6 Electoral Votes
DELAWARE - 3 Electoral Votes
GEORGIA - 13 Electoral Votes
IDAHO - 4 Electoral Votes
ILLINOIS - 22 Electoral Votes
INDIANA - 12 Electoral Votes
IOWA - 7 Electoral Votes
KANSAS - 6 Electoral Votes
KENTUCKY - 8 Electoral Votes
LOUISIANA - 9 Electoral Votes
MINNESOTA - 10 Electoral Votes
MISSOURI - 11 Electoral Votes
NEW HAMPSHIRE - 4 Electoral Votes
NEW JERSEY - 15 Electoral Votes
NEW YORK - 33 Electoral Votes
NORTH DAKOTA - 3 Electoral Votes
PENNSYLVANIA - 23 Electoral Votes
RHODE ISLAND - 4 Electoral Votes
SOUTH DAKOTA - 3 Electoral Votes
TENNESSEE - 11 Electoral Votes
TEXAS - 32 Electoral Votes
UTAH - 5 Electoral Votes
WEST VIRGINIA - 5 Electoral Votes


Legal Requirements or Pledges
Electors in these States are bound by State Law or by pledges to cast their vote for a specific candidate:

ALABAMA - 9 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - ? 17-19-2
ALASKA - 3 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - ? 15.30.040; 15.30.070
CALIFORNIA - 54 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 6906
COLORADO - 8 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 1-4-304
CONNECTICUT - 8 Electoral Votes
State Law ? 9-175
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - 3 Electoral Votes
DC Pledge / DC Law - ? 1-1312(g)
FLORIDA - 25 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - ? 103.021(1)
HAWAII - 4 Electoral Votes
State Law - ?? 14-26 to 14-28
MAINE - 4 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 805
MARYLAND - 10 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 8-505(c)
MASSACHUSETTS - 12 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - Ch. 53, ? 8, Supp.
MICHIGAN - 18 Electoral Votes
State Law - ?168.47 (Violation cancels vote and elector is replaced).
MISSISSIPPI - 7 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - ?23-15-785(3)
MONTANA - 3 Electoral Votes
State Law - ?13-25-104
NEBRASKA - 5 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 32-714
NEVADA - 4 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 298.050
NEW MEXICO - 5 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 1-15-5 to 1-15-9 (Violation is a fourth degree felony.)
NORTH CAROLINA - 14 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 163-212 (Violation cancels vote; elector is replaced and is subject to $500 fine.)
OHIO - 21 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 3505.40
OKLAHOMA - 8 Electoral Votes
State Pledge / State Law - 26, ?? 10-102; 10-109 (Violation of oath is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $1000.)
OREGON - 7 Electoral Votes
State Pledge / State Law - ? 248.355
SOUTH CAROLINA - 8 Electoral Votes
State Pledge / State Law - ? 7-19-80 (Replacement and criminal sanctions for violation.)
VERMONT - 3 Electoral Votes
State Law - title 17, ? 2732
* VIRGINIA - 13 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 24.1-162 (Virginia statute may be advisory - "Shall be expected" to vote for nominees.)
WASHINGTON - 11 Electoral Votes
Party Pledge / State Law - ?? 29.71.020, 29.71.040, Supp. ($1000 fine.)
WISCONSIN - 11 Electoral Votes
State Law - ? 7.75
WYOMING - 3 Electoral Votes
State Law - ?? 22-19-106; 22-19-108

http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/laws.html


Now, depending on the state you live in, is your vote really any good?....





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Lil' Stinker's Opinion
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Comments

  • Red223Red223 Member Posts: 7,946
    edited November -1
    Those Democrap lovers in the cities of Pennsylvania.....I'm hoping the Electoral Votes come from rural PA but who picks the Electorals for States anyways?

    Pennsylvania has 23 electoral votes and I'd like to know who those 23 people are.

    Does anyone know how to find out??[:D]

    Inquiring minds want to know.....
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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    Red..

    All you have to do is follow the link I gave....then hit FAQ...

    Who selects the Electors?

    The process for selecting electors varies throughout the United States. Generally, the political parties nominate electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State. Electors are often selected to recognize their service and dedication to their political party. They may be State elected officials, party leaders, or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential candidate. Then the voters in each State choose the electors on the day of the general election. The electors' names may or may not appear on the ballot below the name of the candidates running for President, depending on the procedure in each State.




    What are the qualifications to be an elector?

    The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of electors. Article II, section 1, clause 2 provides that no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. As a historical matter, the 14th Amendment provides that State officials who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies are disqualified from serving as electors. This prohibition relates to the post-Civil War era.

    A State's certification of electors on its Certificates of Ascertainment is generally sufficient to establish the qualifications of electors.



    This link provides that infor for Mass....its easy to find out for your state who is the electors...The link shows the process and how to find out...


    http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleidx.htm

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    Lil' Stinker's Opinion
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  • kaliforniankalifornian Member Posts: 475 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If I remember correctly, on at least one occassion an elector disregarded his state's popular vote and went his own way.

    I don't remember the details, but I think the rogue voter was trying to prevent a unanimous vote or prevent someone from being elected with as high a number of votes as one of our earlier presidents. Sorry I can't remember the details, but this was someting I picked up a LONG time ago in junior high or high school.



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  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    There have been only around a ten electors in the last two centuries who've gone against the presidental candidate whom they are supposed to be "pledged". The last one that I am aware of was a fellow from Seattle named Mike Padden. Old Mike was a man after my own heart, a die hard Reagonite Republican and when Reagan did not get the Republican party's nomintation in Kansa City in 1976 (I have a commemorative bottle of Ezra Brooks bourbon shaped like an elephant from that convention) Mike was not detered. Even though Washington State was carried by Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidental election Mike still cast his vote for Ronnie! I am unaware of any electors defection having any effect on the outcome of a presidental election.

    "Nothing can ever be made 'idiot proof' because idiots are simply too clever"!
    Mark T. Christian
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