What country would this happen in? You can only vote for the person designated by the state and if you vote for anyone else, you can be charged $1,000 and jailed for a year.
I've been thinking the past weeks on whether faithful electors should vote for the person they are bound to. My thought has been they should. If state law binds them to do so -- and it does in 28 states -- and if the elector is pledged to do so, then they should vote for who has been designated.
But now news comes out of Colorado that that state could charge you $1,000 and toss you in jail if you vote for someone other than the person designated. I am somewhat persuaded the concept is so wrong that perhaps the right thing is a little civil disobedience. Vote for who you will, although you should be ready to go to jail if you do so.
In a year in which Russia has tampered with our election -- at least supposedly -- it is interesting that the issue of the state mandating who you vote for should rise. The way the Constitution was written, the electors choose the president. If they are to choose the president, a strong, strong argument can be made that these state laws are in-Constitutional. Indeed, it can be argued they undermine the Constitution.
Perhaps the electors should take a swing to protect the Constitution.
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