between Trump and Harris, the loyalty of major voters in question

UNITED STATES – Loyalty is not a quality that we necessarily associate with politics. And yet, it is on it that the voting system for the American presidential election is partly based. The United States elects its president by indirect universal suffrage, which means that citizens actually vote for electors, in this case on November 5, who are responsible for electing the president and vice-president.

It is usually the Democratic and Republican parties who nominate them, so both camps select people loyal to their side. However, some major voters have already deviated from their commitment, as you can see in the video at the top of the article.

But this has only happened a hundred times since the creation of the country. However, this possibility gives ideas. For example in 2020, after Donald Trump’s defeat against Joe Biden. The Republicans denounced a rigged election and hoped to convince voters to be unfaithful in order to ” to correct “ the result of the election… In vain.

The subject had already gone as far as the American Supreme Court after the 2016 election (Donald Trump narrowly won against Hillary Clinton) which confirmed that states can force electors to respect their commitment. Of the 50 American states, only 38 have a law on the subject (including a few swing states) and the sanctions are not harmonized. An unfaithful elector risks prison and the cancellation of his vote in some states, but in others he would only have to pay a fine and his vote would still count.

For critics of the electoral college, it is a weakness that poses a democratic risk. If historically unfaithful voters have been rare and have never overturned an election, the fact that there is such a flaw does not nevertheless make such a scenario improbable.

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