Forum: Author Hangout

If that is true, then the electors would be free to vote as their party directs or to do as their conscious dictates.

s/ir conscious dictate/ highest bidder ask/

In many (programming) editors, there is a Substitute command with syntax s/original/replacement/

You should be able to work it out from there.

It's a search and replace command for a text editor.

. I did get the impression that bk69 was saying the electors would vote their conscious or sell the vote to the highest bidder.

Actually, just the latter.

Didn't claim it was right, just what would happen.

A state can punish unfaith electors, and there is a $1,000 dollar fine for doing so.

A number of states have long had laws on the books to punish faithless electors. However, until very recently there was a serious open question as to whether or not these laws were constitutional.

In the 2016 Presidential election after it was clear Hillary wouldn't have enough EC votes to win, several of her electors across several states switched their votes to third party candidates. These were all in states with laws as described above.

The goal was two fold.

1. Get a court decision that the electors have discretion that the states can't legally bind.

2. Convince enough Trump electors to switch their votes to third party candidates to throw the election to congress.

#2 was an immediate failure.

#1 Reached the US Supreme Court just last year, and the court decided that the states do have the authority to bind the electors.

It makes you wonder how serious the Democrats are about the popular vote being adhered to.

Given their behavior over the past 60 odd years, I am thinking they would rather you didn't vote at all.

Given their behavior over the past 60 odd years, I am thinking they would rather you didn't vote at all.

Then why is it that the GOP seem to pass laws denying peoples right to vote and calling for counting votes already cast be stopped?

If local elections officials allow people to vote in ways that are not in compliance with state laws regarding how elections are to be run: Why should those votes be counted? Are they legally votes at all?

Then why is it that the GOP seem to pass laws denying peoples right to vote and calling for counting votes already cast be stopped?

I have a similar question about Canada. I want to vote in their elections, but for some stupid reason, they won't let me. Why should my not being a Canadian citizen have any bearing on the matter?
Silly laws.

Why are the Dems deadset against requiring ID?

Irvmull - Canada's elections are over too quick to let anyone else vote in :)

Thus it can be claimed that in California 21 Electors were faithless to the population of that state because the state government insisted they vote one way.

The electors are pledged to a specific candidate. Faithless means they voted for a different candidate, nothing more, nothing less.

There is no requirement in the US constitution that states select electors by vote at all. Your point is meaningless.

It's also not the case that electors are chosen and then directed how to vote based on the outcome of the election.

Each candidate selects a slate of potential electors for each state pledged to that specific candidate, then the election determines which slate is appointed as electors.

Even in Maine which is not winner take all you could have a faithless elector.

A North Dakota Republican died of covid-19 in October. He still won his election.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a-north-dakota-republican-died-of-covid-19-in-october-he-still-won-his-election/ar-BB1aGzi2?ocid=uxbndlbing

It actually happens but I like this one the best

In 2010, Carl Robin Geary was elected as mayor of Tracy City, Tennessee. But he never got to be mayor because he had died of a heart attack before the election. Voters knew Geary was dead, but they still voted for him because they did not want his contender and incumbent mayor, Barbara Brock, to remain in office. Barbara got just 85 votes, while Geary got 268.Voters wanted Brock out of office so bad that one man stated he would vote for the deceased Geary if he ran for reelection. The loss meant Mrs. Brock had a very unique political profile. She was selected to become mayor in 2008 after the previous mayor died in office. Then she lost that seat to another dead man.

It actually happens but I like this one the best

For me, the ballot Tuesday had the Presidential race, the Local US HR district and a bunch of local offices. The local offices all had one person running with no opposition at all.

I wonder what would happen in a case like that, one candidate running unopposed and the candidate dies before election day?

Duke the dog was also elected Mayor in one of the Stupid Boy novels. In I Claudius Caligula appoints his horse to the senate. In real life many a horse's arse has been elected to office.

I have to agree that our political process is flawed.

The biggest flaw being that it is political. However, we haven't figured out how to do democracy without politics yet, and just about anything else would be even worse.