Does the Electoral College have to vote based on popular vote?
Usually, electoral votes align with the popular vote in an election. But a number of times in our nation's history, the person who took the White House did not receive the most popular votes.
Can electors vote for whoever they want?
Faithless elector laws As of 2020, 33 states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for the candidates for whom they pledged to vote, though in half of these jurisdictions there is no enforcement mechanism.
How many faithless electors were in 2016?
In the 2016 United States presidential election, ten members of the Electoral College voted or attempted to vote for a candidate different from the ones to whom they were pledged.
How many times did the Electoral College vote against popular vote?
With most states following the winner-take-all approach, it is possible for a candidate to win the electoral vote, but lose the nation-wide popular vote. There have been four elections in which the person elected president won the electoral vote, but lost the popular vote (1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016).