The Supreme Court of the United States made a huge decision in a case dealing with faithless electors in the election process.

As you may already know, an elector is someone who is chosen by their state to cast that state’s electoral vote for the general election based upon the majority vote of the residents of that state.

A faithless elector is one who defies the millions of people in their state and just votes however they want to, specifically contrary to the popular vote of that state.

In a 9-0 ruling, the court said that those sanctions — in Washington a fine and in Colorado being removed and replaced as an elector — are constitutional.

The cases come after a group of Democratic electors that called themselves the “Hamilton Electors” voted for moderate Republicans instead of Hillary Clinton in 2016, in an unsuccessful effort to convince Republican electors to vote for somebody besides President Trump.

“Among the devices States have long used to achieve their object are pledge laws, designed to impress on electors their role as agents of others,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court’s opinion. “That direction accords with the Constitution—as well as with the trust of a Nation that here, We the People rule.”

Though many voters don’t realize it, when Americans cast their ballots in presidential elections they are actually voting for “electors” who later cast the official ballots that decide the presidential election. They almost always rubber-stamp the popular vote winner in their state, but at times have voted for a different candidate, as the Hamilton Electors did in 2016.

It’s not often anymore that we get a unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court. So when it does happen, you’d better bet that they got this one right.

BREAKING: #SCOTUS rules unanimously that states can punish faithless electors who decide to show up for the Electoral College vote and cast their ballots against the way their states voted.

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) July 6, 2020

Sources:
Fox News