Legal Definitions - presidential elector

A presidential elector is an individual chosen by each state to formally cast votes for President and Vice President of the United States in the Electoral College. When citizens vote in a general election for president, they are actually voting for a slate of these electors who have pledged to support a particular presidential and vice-presidential ticket. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state typically wins all of that state's electoral votes.

Here are some examples to illustrate the role of a presidential elector:

• Imagine it's election day in Ohio. Millions of Ohioans go to the polls and cast their ballots for their preferred presidential candidate. Although their ballots show the names of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, they are technically voting for a group of individuals – the presidential electors – who have committed to voting for those candidates in the Electoral College. If Candidate A wins the popular vote in Ohio, then the slate of electors pledged to Candidate A will be the ones who officially cast Ohio's electoral votes.

  This illustrates that the direct vote for a presidential candidate is actually an indirect vote for a specific set of presidential electors who will then carry out the state's will in the Electoral College.

• After a presidential election, in December, the presidential electors from each state gather (often in their state capitals) to cast their official ballots for President and Vice President. For instance, if Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes, 19 individuals who were chosen as presidential electors in Pennsylvania would meet. If the Democratic candidate won the popular vote in Pennsylvania, these 19 electors, having pledged to the Democratic candidate, would then cast their votes for that candidate.

  This example shows the specific role of the presidential elector in the Electoral College process, demonstrating their function as the actual individuals who cast the electoral votes.

• In rare instances, a presidential elector might choose to vote for a candidate different from the one they pledged to support, or even abstain from voting. This individual is sometimes referred to as a "faithless elector." For example, if an elector in Arizona was pledged to Candidate B but decided to cast their vote for Candidate C instead, they would be acting as a faithless elector. While such actions are uncommon and sometimes carry penalties, they highlight the individual agency of the presidential elector within the Electoral College system.

  This example clarifies that while electors are pledged, they are individuals with the legal capacity to cast a vote, even if it deviates from their pledge, thereby emphasizing their distinct role as the actual voters in the Electoral College.