faithless elector
noun
plural faithless electors
: an elector who votes in the electoral college for a candidate other than the one who won the popular vote in the elector's state
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously upheld laws across the country that remove or punish rogue Electoral College delegates who refuse to cast their votes for the presidential candidate they were pledged to support. The decision Monday was a loss for "faithless electors," who argued that under the Constitution they have discretion to decide which candidate to support.—
Nina Totenberg
Nina TotenbergExamples of faithless elector in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thirty-five states and D.C. have laws against faithless electors.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024
In a 269-269 tie, that would mean just the two major-party nominees (though a faithless elector scenario could technically introduce a third candidate).
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2024
Before 2016, the 1988 election saw faithless electors.
—Houston Keene, Fox News, 21 Apr. 2023
But Brown emphasized that some states would need to adjust their faithless electors laws to allow for this.
—Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 8 Jan. 2024
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that faithless electors could not vote against the will of the state.
—Houston Keene, Fox News, 21 Apr. 2023
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Solcyré Burga, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024
In a 269-269 tie, that would mean just the two major-party nominees (though a faithless elector scenario could technically introduce a third candidate).
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2024
Before 2016, the 1988 election saw faithless electors.
—Houston Keene, Fox News, 21 Apr. 2023
But Brown emphasized that some states would need to adjust their faithless electors laws to allow for this.
—Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 8 Jan. 2024
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that faithless electors could not vote against the will of the state.
—Houston Keene, Fox News, 21 Apr. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near faithless elector
Cite this Entry
“Faithless elector.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faithless%20elector. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share