[EL] 3 Electoral College members may pass on GOP ticket / Uniform Faithless Presidential Electors Act

[John Koza]

Today's AP story by Mike Baker should remind people of the merits of the
"Uniform Faithless Presidential Electors Act" proposed in 2010 by the
Uniform Law Commission (also known as the National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws).  The Conference, formed in 1892, is a
non-governmental body that has produced more than 200 recommended uniform
states laws (e.g., the Uniform Commercial Code).

 

The Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act has many of the features of
North Carolina's existing law concerning voting by presidential electors.
The proposed uniform law calls for the election of both electors and
alternate electors. The Act has a state-administered pledge of faithfulness.
Any attempt by a presidential elector to cast a vote in violation of that
pledge effectively constitutes resignation from the office of elector. The
Act provides a mechanism for immediately filling of a vacancy created for
that reason (or any other reason).

 

Montana has enacted the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act. 

 

 

Dr. John R. Koza

Box 1441

Los Altos Hills, California 94023 USA

Phone: 650-941-0336

Fax: 650-941-9430

Email: john at johnkoza.com

URL: www.johnkoza.com 

URL: www.NationalPopularVote.com

 

From: Derek Muller [mailto:derek.muller at gmail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2012 8:46 AM
To: Election Law
Subject: [EL] 3 Electoral College members may pass on GOP ticket

 

>From the AP here
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdGQC3sPvW6fAJ9kF3DXqWx4n
vnw?docId=d88bb39bc47949b89cfe400d7b07bece> .

I assume it's quite state-specific as to what power the parties have to
replace electors as this point--indeed, recall the Sherrod Brown incident
<http://electionlawblog.org/archives/002241.html>  in 2004 that was averted
because he resigned and the party could select a replacement. But I thought
it was worth flagging. There have been, after all, incidents of canvassing
electors after the election but before the electors cast their votes; and
the surveys of Robert M. Alexander, "Lobbying the Electoral College: The
Potential for Chaos" in Electoral College Reform (Gary Bugh ed. 2010),
provide for some great detail.

Best,

Derek

Derek T. Muller
Associate Professor of Law
Pepperdine University School of Law
24255 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Malibu, CA 90263
+1 310-506-7058 <tel:%2B1%20310-506-7058> 
SSRN Author Page: http://ssrn.com/author=464341
<https://webmail.pepperdine.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=29ae10151b4a4ac692bb6f658bc
0bf17&URL=http%3a%2f%2fssrn.com%2fauthor%3d464341> 

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