{"id":2220615,"date":"2024-04-14T11:11:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T15:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-lawmakers-moving-to-restrict-faithless-electors\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T11:15:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T15:15:01","slug":"connecticut-lawmakers-moving-to-restrict-faithless-electors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-lawmakers-moving-to-restrict-faithless-electors\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut legislators working on limiting electors who go against their party"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconnecticut-lawmakers-moving-to-restrict-faithless-electors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2220615&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Connecticut lawmakers\u200d are\u200c considering legislation to prevent &#8220;faithless&#8221;\u200d electors from undermining election results. This measure, aiming\u2063 to safeguard\u2062 the electoral process, would invalidate votes from electors who do \u200bnot vote \u2064for their\u200c pledged candidates. \u2063The proposal\u200b follows concerns raised after \u2062the \u20642020 election and \u2062seeks to \u2064ensure electors fulfill their commitment without facing sanctions or jail time.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2014 Connecticut has never had a \u201cfaithless\u201d elector who refused to certify the results of a presidential election, but some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-kristi-noem-passes-on-south-dakota-womens-sports-bill-issues-executive-orders-instead\/\" title=\"Gov. Kristi Noem Passes On South Dakota Women\u2019s Sports Bill, Issues Executive Orders Instead\">state lawmakers argue<\/a> there needs to be a law preventing it.<\/p>\n<p>A legislative proposal, which recently cleared a key committee, would nullify the electoral vote of a so-called \u201cfaithless\u201d presidential elector in Connecticut who fails to cast their ballot for the candidates that the elector ran on the official ballot.<\/p>\n<p>It would also allow individual citizens to petition a state court to order the removal of an elector who fails to carry out their duties in certifying the presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike a previous version of the bill that was considered by lawmakers last year, it doesn\u2019t threaten sanction or jail time against rogue electors.<\/p>\n<p>State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, the bill\u2019s primary sponsor, said the legislation is aimed at \u201censuring that presidential electors vote in the way they have committed to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if not, it creates a procedure to ensure that the presidential election is efficiently and accurately certified,\u201d he said during a recent meeting of the Legislature\u2019s Committee on Government Administration and Elections, which voted to advance it. \u201cIt also ensures that officials in the chain of certification do their duties if there is no dispute about the results of the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal said \u201cfaithless\u201d electors while rare have occurred \u201cfrom time to time\u201d in U.S. presidential elections, and Connecticut is among states that have no law preventing them from changing their vote.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of the bill \u2014 mostly Democrats \u2014 say the plan is a response to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-is-to-be-done\/\" title=\"What Is to Be Done?\">contentious 2020 presidential election<\/a> when then-President Donald Trump and his supporters pressured officials in several swing states to reject results that delivered a victory to Democrat Joe Biden, who ultimately won the presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are largely opposed to the proposal, arguing that the issue of electors is best left to the political parties to ensure that they follow through on their commitments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-appalling-qanon-shamans-lawyer-says-doj-lied-withheld-videos-aired-by-carlson\/\" title=\"\u2018It\u2019s Appalling\u2019: QAnon Shaman\u2019s Lawyer Says DOJ Lied, Withheld Videos Aired By Carlson\">pretty high standard<\/a> to be a delegate to a presidential election, and I am assuming that when those people are picked they are really vetted to ensure that they are going to support the will of the state and the party,\u201d said state Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott, said in remarks during last month\u2019s hearing. \u201cI just think this is a little over-the-top.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The measure is backed by Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas, a Democrat, who testified last month that her office supports the changes and \u201cstrongly\u201d urged lawmakers to approve the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Concerns about rogue state electors have been rekindled ahead of a contentious rematch between Biden and Trump in the November elections, where the race could be decided in a handful of battleground states.<\/p>\n<p>Under the U.S. Constitution, presidents and vice presidents are elected by the Electoral College made up of representatives of the states, not the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/6-steps-the-democrats-will-take-to-fundamentally-alter-america-and-ensure-their-permanent-power\/\" title=\"6 Steps The Democrats Will Take To Fundamentally Alter America And Ensure Their Permanent Power\">national popular vote<\/a>. There is no Constitutional prohibition or federal law preventing electors from voting for someone other than whom they are pledged. But more than half of the states, including Washington, D.C., \u201cbind\u201d their electors.<\/p>\n<p>Despite concerns, the number of faithless electors has declined over the past century, and in most cases are the result of errors or protest votes, according to Fair Vote, an advocacy group that supports laws outlawing the practice. Connecticut has never had a \u201cfaithless\u201d elector for a presidential or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-knows-he-messed-up-on-fracking-at-debate-and-is-now-doing-damage-control-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Knows He Messed Up On Fracking At Debate And Is Now Doing Damage Control | The Daily Wire\">vice presidential candidate<\/a>, the group said.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2016 election, a \u201chistoric\u201d number of seven electors cast their ballots for a candidate other than the one who won his or her state in the presidential race between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Most of the \u201cfaithless\u201d electors were protest voters.<\/p>\n<p>Connecticut isn\u2019t considered a battleground state, but it is one of 16 states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would \u2014 if ratified by enough states \u2014 would pledge the state\u2019s Electoral College votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote.<\/p>\n<p>The pact currently has 205 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to be activated.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Connecticut lawmakers consider a law to prevent &#8220;faithless&#8221; electors from undermining election results. While the state has not faced this issue before, legislators push for a proposal that would invalidate such actions. This measure, advancing through a crucial committee, aims to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2220616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP22070086169545.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2220615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP22070086169545.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2220615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2220616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2220615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2220615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}