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US Supreme Court Says States May Punish 'Faithless Electors'

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court has four simple words for members
   of the Electoral College who fail to back the winner of their state's
   popular vote in presidential elections:

   "We the people rule."

   In a unanimous decision, the nine-member high court Monday ruled that
   members of the Electoral College, the body that elects the U.S.
   president, are not "free agents" and that states may penalize them for
   breaking their pledge.

   "The Constitution's text and the nation's history both support allowing
   a state to enforce an elector's pledge to support his party's nominee
   -- and the state voters' choice -- for president," liberal Justice
   Elena Kagan wrote in a 33-page opinion on behalf of the court.

   The decision came in a pair of cases involving so-called "faithless
   electors," members of the Electoral College who choose someone other
   than the presidential candidate who carries their state's popular vote.

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