Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
That's...how it works, though. If the Republican candidate wins the popular vote in a state, the Republican party's electors for that state vote in the EC. If the Dem wins in that state, the Democrats' electors vote in the EC.That doesn't sound right. You keep saying the popular vote at state level selects which party's electors will represent. And that's where I'm getting hung up.
As archives.gov describes it, "When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate's preferred electors."
Right, but each party selects their own electors during their convention (edit: or through other means), which means they are quite likely to vote for the candidate their party selected. Their intent is to serve as representatives of the will of the voters, but also of the will of their party. Remember, the parties choose who will represent them in the EC. Being a faithless elector means pledging to vote for your party's candidate, and then not following through.29 states allow their delegates to vote freely which isn't always the popular vote winner.
So, yes, it is possible for a state to pledge it's delegates for someone other than the states popular vote winner.
What you're describing -- a state's entire delegation overturning that state's popular vote -- is possible in theory (before today), but not realistic.