State of Washington, Respondent
Noah G. Purcell, Counsel of Record
Article II of the Constitution sets out the process by which, every four years, the president and the vice president of the United States are selected. It is a somewhat complicated process in which representatives of each state cast ballots equal to its total representation in the U.S. Congress in a body called the Electoral College. Although the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1804, modified the process somewhat, the exact obligations and responsibilities of the presidential “electors,” beyond their obligation to vote, were left vague. Over the course of the years, electors have at times cast ballots for someone besides the popular vote winner of their state — a move the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952 said is constitutional. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have passed …
