When was the last time (if ever) an elector was faithless in US presidential elections?
score:33
It actually happens fairly often. The last was in 2004, where a Minnesota elector (who would not own up to it) voted for Edwards (the VP candidate) instead of John Kerry. The assumption has been that this was done out of incompetence rather than malice.
The cycle before that, the DC elector refused to vote, in protest to DC having no congressional representation.
The last elector to cast a vote for a presidential candidate of another party was Roger MacBride in '72, who pledged to vote Republican but instead voted for the Libertarians. (Incidentally making Tonie Nathan the first woman to ever receive an electoral vote)
The only election I can find where a faithless elector voted for the POTUS candidate from the other major party was in 1796, where Samuel Miles (our very first faithless elector) pledged to support the Federalist, but voted for the Democratic Republican (Jefferson) instead.
Answering a question in the comments, there further was never an instance where faithless electors significanly altered the results of an election. In fact, it appears that electoral votes not being particularly close may be an inducement to faithless electors, as most incidents seem to be protest votes.*
There was however one interesting incident of mass-faithlessness. In the 1872 election one of the major-party POTUS candidates, (apparently as a gift to us US history nuts) died after electors were chosen but before they could cast their votes. He'd only gotten 66 electors (nowhere enough to challenge U.S. Grant), but all but three ended up voting for other people. Under the circumstances, rather than tar those electors as "faithless", it may be right to look further askance at the 3 who remained faithful and voted for the dead guy.
* - The "faithless elector" who voted for Reagan instead of Ford in 1976 did an interview on Ken Rudin's Political Junkie podcast #158, and admitted he would not have done so if the vote had been close.
Upvote:2
This is more than "a real possibility."
The mechanisms exist for it to happen. There is no federal law preventing an elector from pledging their vote to one candidate, and then voting for another.
The likelihood of its happening is a different matter. Here are the factors affecting that probability:
The Constitution prescribes the use of the Electoral College, but it is the states that govern who can become an elector, and how the electors pledge their votes. This authority has been tested and confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Since the candidate electors are selected by the political parties, it would be political suicide for them to renege on their pledge. In addition, about half of the states have laws that impose punishment on electors who vote for a candidate different from the one to whom their vote was pledged. Michigan even has a provision for such votes to be voided.
These state laws have never been tested in the Supreme Court.
In addition, as a last firewall, any state's votes can be challenged in Congress, as long as there are one Representative and one Senator sponsoring the challenge. If one party rules both houses of Congress, as it does now, a challenge would be more likely to succeed.
So, an outright revolt against the popular vote (at the state level) seems to be highly unlikely to succeed.
Upvote:3
One elector went for Ronald Reagan in 1976--the first time he ran, not when he won the race.:
from Wikipedia on the 1976 Electoral College results:
Washington Elector Mike Padden, pledged for Republicans Gerald Ford and Bob Dole, cast his presidential electoral vote for Ronald Reagan, who had challenged Ford for the Republican nomination. He cast his vice presidential vote, as pledged, for Dole.
Upvote:5
For completeness:
In the 2016 election there were seven faithless electors, which is the highest number since 1872.
Quoting electoral-vote.com, Dec 20:
Five Clinton electors defected, with one from Hawaii voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), three from Washington voting for former general Colin Powell, and another from Washington voting for Dakota pipeline protester Faith Spotted Eagle. Two Trump electors from Texas also rebelled, with one of those voting for Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) and the other voting for former representative Ron Paul.
More post
- 📝 Why was there a perceived high rate of AIDS infection among Haitians?
- 📝 What was the nature of conflict between Helvetii and German in prelude to Gallic Wars?
- 📝 Were there any role-playing games in medieval times?
- 📝 What influence did Benjamin Franklin's association with Freemasonry have on his success in France?
- 📝 Was simply addressing the English monarch wrongly ever a punishable crime?
- 📝 Have American urban rioters ever looted residences?
- 📝 How did the supplies shipped in winter over the "Road of Life" to Leningrad compare to those at other times of the year?
- 📝 What is the source of this quote about Demosthenes by Philip II of Macedon?
- 📝 What are the stages of traversals of the Mediterranean Sea?
- 📝 Who won the wrestling match between Lincoln and Jack Armstrong?
- 📝 Where were the Straits dollars printed?
- 📝 What is the approximate value of a Spanish ducat in 1557?
- 📝 What does a black cloth on your upper left arm mean in the context of 1950s USA?
- 📝 Did the USA win the counter insurgency war in the Vietnam war?
- 📝 Did imperialist propaganda inflate map size?
- 📝 History of eponymous cities
- 📝 What is the average (or default if you prefer) human political system?
- 📝 What kept 19th century Europe's workers going?
- 📝 When could California mission priests perform confirmation?
- 📝 Can anyone help identify the era or other specifics of this Air Force jacket?
- 📝 Why was the bald eagle chosen as the national bird of the United States?
- 📝 What does the crested logo with a stacked "A C and I" on this Baldwin-Felts certificate mean?
- 📝 What caused the rise of international anti-semitism during the early 20th century?
- 📝 What caused Yugoslavia to switch sides early in World War II?
- 📝 What's the most elaborate ancient mechanism?
- 📝 Why did the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal take a much longer route to the Des Plaines River?
- 📝 Were sermons in the Middle Ages devoted to Old Testament or New Testament subjects?
- 📝 What were the efforts made by the U.S. government to conserve forests?
- 📝 When have salaries been paid in kind, not cash?
- 📝 Why women in English-speaking world commonly assume husband's family name after marriage, but women in China do not?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 When was the last time (if ever) an elector was faithless in US presidential elections?
- 📝 When was the last time a reigning monarch personally participated in battle?
- 📝 When was the last time a country acquired territory by buying land from another country?
- 📝 When was the last time that a personal union of thrones led to an effective integration of the nations?
- 📝 When was the last time someone was condemned to slavery as a punishment in the United States?
- 📝 When was the last time period where one could travel by steam powered locomotive across the United States today?
- 📝 When was the last time there were border controls, customs, or border patrols inside what is now the contiguous US?
- 📝 When was the last time the Catholic Church excommunicated a government official for political reasons?
- 📝 When was the last time when there was no electrical lighting switched on on the earth?
- 📝 When was the last time the US had the highest GDP per capita?
- 📝 When was the last time that the U.S. as a country, state, or city was occupied by foreign troops?
- 📝 When was the last documented occasion that Arab or Ottoman slave traders abducted people from Europe?
- 📝 When was the last cavalry charge?
- 📝 When was the first time Rome was mentioned in outside records (and specifically, in Greek ones)?
- 📝 When was the last promotion in the British Peerage?
- 📝 When was the tactic of chaining ships together last used in a major naval battle?
- 📝 When and where was the first time moveable bridge?
- 📝 Did the Russian Empire have a claim to Sweden? Was there ever a time where they could have pursued it?
- 📝 When was the last US letter of marque issued?
- 📝 Was there ever a war mission where the personnel were instructed to surrender when the mission complete?
- 📝 Was there a time when a Senator was wheeled in from the hospital to cast a deciding vote not to do something?
- 📝 When was the last moment that Dutch, German and Swiss German were the same language?
- 📝 When was the last state militia abandoned?
- 📝 When was the last bull & bear fight in California?
- 📝 When was the last coal mine in Germany established?
- 📝 When was the first time lower-class people had a reasonable chance of having a fair trial?
- 📝 Was there a time when George Washington discovered some of his soldiers absolutely refused to swear loyalty and obedience to the Continental Congress?
- 📝 When was the last round-shot cannonball fired in anger?
- 📝 When was the first time that concrete was used in Indian Subcontinent?
- 📝 Was it possible to criticize the government without repercussions at the time when the 1st amendment was adopted in the US?
