Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination ...

Chapter 2

Studying Presidential Electors

This chapter sets the stage for the remaining analysis by discussing how the position of presidential elector has evolved over time, how states choose electors, the incidence of faithless electors, and the ways parties seek to maintain faithful electors. I then examine various lobbying campaigns from past elections aimed at changing electors’ votes, and I begin building a theory of presidential elector behavior. Analysis of electors’ behavior must take into account their motivations, and I do this by examining why past faithless electors defected from the party ticket. The chapter concludes by detailing the data collection I undertook to study these little-known figures of American politics.

Presidential Electors: Then and Now

Most observers of the American political system believe presidential electors are partisan faithful who are rewarded for long service to the political party. Longley and Peirce (1999, 105) asserted that electors are likely nothing more than “political hacks and fat cats.” Most are indeed