[ZH] In a rare unanimous decision for the US Supreme Court, on Monday the nine Justices ruled unanimously that states can require presidential electors to back their states’ popular vote winner in the Electoral College. The ruling arose out of a case from Washington state, essentially gives states the right to outlaw so-called "faithless electors" who cast their votes for people other than those chosen by their voters.
The decision comes just four months before the 2020 election, leaves in place laws in 32 states and the District of Columbia that bind electors to vote for the popular-vote winner, and electors almost always do so anyway.
While so-called "faithless electors" have not been critical to the outcome of a presidential election, that could change in a close race decided by just a few electoral votes. As a reminder, it takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency.
When the court heard arguments by telephone in May because of the coronavirus outbreak, justices invoked fears of bribery and chaos if electors could cast their ballots regardless of the popular vote outcome in their states. |