faithless elector

American

[fayth-lis-i-lek-ter] / ˈfeɪθ lɪs ɪˈlɛk tər /

noun

U.S. Politics. a delegate of the electoral college who does not vote for the presidential or vice presidential candidate to whom they are pledged.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

faithless electors

plural

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

faithless elector

A lone faithless elector in Washington state made it a three-way race by voting for Ronald Reagan.

From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2024

The very first faithless elector was a guy named Sam Miles, who was chosen to vote for Adams and voted in the end for Jefferson.

From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2024

It was the first election since 1948 to feature more than one faithless elector.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2020

In New Mexico, a faithless elector faces up to 18 months in prison.

From Reuters ● Oct. 20, 2020

There are also questions about whether the faithless elector scheme would violate federal law.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 30, 2020

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023