Copyright: BBC
We've been asking our readers for their most pressing questions about the US election. Now it's our turn to respond.
Stéphane Longuet, 50, from London asks:Is it possible electors would designate another winner? Could some electors from Pennsylvania decide to vote for Donald Trump instead of Joe Biden or are they legally bound to follow the popular vote?
This is a great question - so let's dive into what the deal is with these "faithless electors".
The majority of states in the US, including this year's key battlegrounds of Arizona and Michigan, have laws that bind electors to vote for their state's majorities.
This year, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld those laws, saying electors have "no ground for reversing" the popular vote in their state, noting that in America, "We, the People rule".
Of course, this doesn't mean that we haven't seen faithless electors before, though it is rare.
In 2016, 10 electors reneged on their popular vote winner to vote for other candidates. And way back in 1796, one elector switched to vote for the opposing party.
But it's important to remember these faithless electors have never actually changed the outcome of a presidential election.
According to FairVote, an election reform nonprofit, across 58 presidential elections with more than 23,500 votes cast, only 90 electors have failed to honour the popular vote.
Now a quick look at Pennsylvania: the state doesn't require electors to vote in line with the popular result or penalise faithless electors. However, any swaps here are unlikely, as the party campaigns choose their electors in the state.
Click here to learn more about this project - or submit a question of your own.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiOWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2xpdmUvZWxlY3Rpb24tdXMtMjAyMC01NDkxNTI1NtIBAA?oc=5
2020-11-12 15:18:40Z
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