Mappa Concettuale Scatole

What if the electors break their pledge?

What if the electors break their pledge?

If the electors don't respect their pledge, they are defined "Faithless electors"

example

consequences

State laws and penalities

votes being counted

Replacement

Penalities might include fines or being replaced by another elector who will vote according to the pledge

In States without specific laws for this electors, the vote cast may still be counted

In some States the faitheless elector to be replaced (immediatly) by an alternate elector

Chiafalo VS Washington

What happened?

In 2016, 3 candidates from the state of Washington voted for candidates other than Hilary Clinton (she had won the state's popular vote). These voters, including Peter Chiafalo, were fined $1000. They disputed the fine saying that the Constitution guarantees voters the freedom to vote without being influenced by the status. Subsequently, the judgement confirmed that false voters deserve to be sanctioned and that states can apply laws to avoid what happened