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1 1 (May 12, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdann0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Cor 101 1 'Faithless Elector Challenge Goes to Supreme Court May 12, 2020 On May 13, 2020, the Supreme Court is set to hear two cases, Chifailo v. f-Kishington and Colorado Departnent of State v Baca, that could determine how much power states have to control the presidential selection process in the Electoral College. As a formal matter, the Constitution provides that state legislatures shall direct the appointment of presidential electors, who, in turn, cast ballots for President and Vice President. But in practice, every state legislature has determined that electors should follow the will of their state's voters. The question in these cases is whether states may require electors to cast ballots for the presidential ticket favored by their voters, or whether electors retain the ultimate discretion to cast ballots for the candidates of their choice. Factual Background So-called faithless electors (or anomalous electors)-electors who cast ballots for a candidate other than the one expected by their state's legislature-have existed since early American histor,, though they have never tipped the outcome of an election. Electors' reasons for voting their own way tend to be idiosyncratic. In 1988, for example, a West Virginia elector reversed her votes for President and Vice President as a symbolic protest against the Electoral College. In the 2000 election, a Washington, D.C., elector abstained from casting her vote to protest D.C.'s lack of congressional representation. And in 2004, one of Minnesota's electors cast a presidential ballot for the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate, apparently by mistake. In 2016, however, some electors attempted a coordinated effort to change the election's outcome. Democratic electors Michael Baca of Colorado and Bret Chiafalo of Washington sought to rally support for a Republican alternative to Donald Trump despite state laws requiring them to vote for Hillary Clinton, the popular vote winner in both Washington and Colorado. Chiafalo and two other Washington electors ultimately cast their votes for Colin Powell, while Baca cast his vote for John Kasich. In all there were seven anomalous votes in the 2016 Electoral College, and several more electors indicated they would have voted anomalously if they were not restricted by state law. For defying their state's popular vote, Chiafalo and Washington's other faithless electors were fined S 1,000. The Washington Supreme Court upheld the fines, ruling that the Constitution does not provide Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10462 CRS Lega Sidebar Prepaed for Membeivs and Cornm ittees o4 Cor~qress --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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