Scholars have long held that Electors are independent decision-makers, and that the state laws enacted to force them to vote with the plurality in their state would fail a Constitutional challenge.  There is no mention of the current system we have all come to know in the Constitution.

These state laws have stood for years because until now, no one had standing to bring a case.

Until Wednesday, August 15, 2017.

In Colorado, in Washington State and elsewhere, electors were fined, replaced or both for flouting the laws in their respective states.  On Wednesday, Harvard professor, Lawrence Lessig, on behalf of two members of Colorado’s Electoral College filed suit claiming voter intimidation against them by the Colorado Secretary of State; and they have filed their suit in U.S. District Court in Colorado.

The legal wrangling will be interesting, but if the Supreme Court (and make no mistake, that’s where this is all now heading) were to rule that Electors were independent actors and decision-makers in their own right, we might see the end of the Electoral College in the United States.

“Whether you agree that they have a constitutional right to vote how they want or not, this election has opened up the door, and it’s really important for the Supreme Court to clarify what the rule is,” [professor] Lessig says. “We don’t want to get another close election and have this uncertainty affect the actual results. Either way the court ought to clarify, and our hope is this we’ll have a vehicle to give them a chance to do that.” (full story here, in The Colorado Independent)

James McCrone is the author of the suspense-thrillers Faithless Elector, and Dark Network (on sale Oct. 20). Publishers Weekly calls Faithless Elector a “fast-moving topical thriller.”  Its “surprising twists add up to a highly suspenseful read.”  Kirkus Reviews says it’s “a gripping and intelligently executed political drama.”

The sequel, Dark Network, is coming in October 20, 2017.

Faithless Elector, by James McCrone is available NOW through Amazon.
If you live in Philadelphia, pick up your copy at Head House Books -or- Penn Book Center.  Support independent bookstores!  They support authors.