A faithless voter is an electoral college member who doesn’t vote for their promised candidate. They may face political retaliation and legal sanctions in some regions. In the US, 156 faithless voters have been registered, some intentionally voting for the opposition or as a political statement. Voters are chosen carefully to minimize defection.
A faithless voter is a member of an electoral college who refuses to vote for his or her promised candidate. This term is most commonly used in American politics, even though technically members of constituencies around the world could be unfaithful if they wanted to. These individuals are often subject to political retaliation for their actions, where they can be identified. In other areas, voter ballots are secret, so a list of suspects can be drawn up, but the person’s identity cannot be confirmed.
An electoral college is a group of individuals known as electors who convene to elect a public official. Typically, voters are mandated by voters, with individuals “committed” to voting for specific candidates or parties. Non-binding voters can vote for whoever they want. In the case of sworn voters, if the person votes for someone other than their candidate, they become a faithless voter.
In the history of the American electoral college as of 2008, 156 faithless voters had been registered. Of these, 71 were forced into infidels because their sworn candidates died between the general election and the convening of the constituency. Others have deliberately chosen to vote for other candidates for a variety of reasons, although some appear to have been unfaithful by accident, such as in 2004 when a Minnesota voter accidentally wrote “John Edwards” on both his presidential and vice presidential ballots.
Several faithless voters made a conscious decision to vote for the opposition candidate because they believed the candidate was better suited for the job. In other cases, a voter may defect as a political statement. Some in Washington, DC, for example, chose to cast a blank vote in protest of a lack of state and region representation in the federal government. Others have also defied their pledges to protest what they perceive as a stolen or questionable election.
In some regions there are specific laws that provide for penalties for those who choose to vote for someone other than the candidate for whom they have committed. Others may be subject to party censorship and public disapproval, but are not subject to legal sanctions. Because of the risk of defection, voters are usually chosen very carefully. High-ranking and particularly loyal members of political parties are the best candidates for these positions, as they are less likely to breach their pledge.
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