Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination of Lobbying, Wavering Electors, and Campaigns for Faithless Votes
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Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination ...

Chapter 2:  Studying Presidential Electors
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party professionals who are far more educated, more politically active, and more likely to contribute money than are other citizens (Alexander, Brown, and Kaseman 2004, 837). The Constitution dictates that electors cannot be members of Congress or “persons holding an office of trust or profit under the United States.” This prohibition was meant to support the principle of separation of powers and to mitigate cabal and intrigue in the presidential selection process. This independence would enable electors to act freely and vote for candidates without regard for the preferences of the three federal branches.

The Earliest Electors

Clearly, the office of presidential elector has changed significantly over time. Although some debate has occurred on the issue, it is largely accepted that the founders believed that electors should be chosen from among society’s most distinguished citizens. Robert Bennett provided a succinct statement of the framer’s intentions:

The electors were to be independent decision makers, “men,” in Alexander Hamilton’s words, “most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.” They were to deliberate and then exercise choice to come up with the best person(s) for the job of president. With only the one job assigned to them as electors, it appears to have been assumed that they would operate with a large measure of independence from their respective state legislatures, even if they had been chosen directly by those legislatures.…If it all worked, highly distinguished electors would be able to operate largely free not only of legislative interference or fealty on both the state and the federal level, but of interest group pressure. The electors would exorcize political haggling from a task that should have none of it. (Bennett 2006, 14)

Echoing this sentiment, Edwards stated that “the framers intended that electors would be distinguished citizens, and such they were in some early elections” (Edwards 2004, 3–4). The procedures used in devising