Cite as: 591 U. S. ____ (2020)
5
Opinion of the Court
In the 20th century, many States enacted statutes meant
to guarantee that outcome—that is, to prohibit so-called
faithless voting. Rather than just assume that party-picked
electors would vote for their party’s winning nominee, those
States insist that they do so. As of now, 32 States and the
District of Columbia have such statutes on their books.
They are typically called pledge laws because most demand
that electors take a formal oath or pledge to cast their ballot
for their party’s presidential (and vice presidential) candidate. Others merely impose that duty by law. Either way,
the statutes work to ensure that the electors vote for the
candidate who got the most statewide votes in the presidential election.
Most relevant here, States began about 60 years ago to
back up their pledge laws with some kind of sanction. By
now, 15 States have such a system.2 Almost all of them immediately remove a faithless elector from his position, substituting an alternate whose vote the State reports instead.
A few States impose a monetary fine on any elector who
flouts his pledge.
Washington is one of the 15 States with a sanctions——————
congressional district. See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann., Tit. 21–A, §802 (2006);
Neb. Rev. Stat. §32–710 (2016). So, for example, if the Republican candidate wins the popular vote in Nebraska as a whole but loses to the
Democratic candidate in one of the State’s three congressional districts,
the Republican will get four electors and the Democrat will get one. Here
too, though, the States use party slates to pick the electors, in order to
reflect the relevant popular preferences (whether in the State or in an
individual district).
2 Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §16–212 (2019 Cum. Supp.); Cal. Elec. Code
Ann. §§6906, 18002 (West 2019); Colo. Rev. Stat. §1–4–304 (2019); Ind.
Code §3–10–4–9 (2019); Mich. Comp. Laws §168.47 (2008); Minn. Stat.
§§208.43, 208.46 (2020 Cum. Supp.); Mont. Code Ann. §§13–25–304, 13–
25–307 (2019); Neb. Rev. Stat. §§32–713, 32–714; Nev. Rev. Stat.
§§298.045, 298.075 (2017); N. M. Stat. Ann. §1–15–9 (Supp. 2011); N. C.
Gen. Stat. Ann. §163–212 (2019); Okla. Stat., Tit. 26, §§10–102, 10–109
(2019); S. C. Code Ann. §7–19–80 (2018); Utah Code §20A–13–304
(2020); Wash. Rev. Code §§29A.56.084, 29A.56.090 (2019).