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
Electors are pledged, but not beholden to voting for their state's winning candidate, though some states penalize faithless electors who go rogue and vote for another candidate.—
Sara Dorn
Sara DornThirty-two states have some sort of faithless elector law, but only 15 of those remove, penalize or simply cancel the votes of the errant electors.—Nina Totenberg
Nina TotenbergExamples of faithless elector in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At this point, the faithless elector scenario appears to be, thankfully, a theoretic relic of the past.
—
Ryan Smith,
Newsweek,
16 Dec. 2024
And in 1837, Martin Van Buren won a majority of electoral votes, but Virginia's 23 electors refused to support his vice presidential candidate, Richard Johnson, and became faithless electors.
—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
4 Nov. 2024
In New Mexico and South Carolina, faithless electors could face a criminal penalty.
—
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
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Ryan Smith,
Newsweek,
16 Dec. 2024
And in 1837, Martin Van Buren won a majority of electoral votes, but Virginia's 23 electors refused to support his vice presidential candidate, Richard Johnson, and became faithless electors.
—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
4 Nov. 2024
In New Mexico and South Carolina, faithless electors could face a criminal penalty.
—
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
Cite this Entry
“Faithless elector.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faithless%20elector. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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