Where it comes to the august duty of electing a president of the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said electors must do what they pledge to do.
Heady stuff in this era where the rule of law means less and less to more and more people.
The unanimous 9-0 verdict by the justices – read that again, it may not happen often – said a group of Democratic electors were wrong in wandering off on their own in 2016 in an effort to convince Republican electors not to vote for then President-elect Donald Trump and deny him an Electoral College majority.
“The Constitution’s text and the Nation’s history,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan, “both support allowing a State to enforce an elector’s pledge to support his party’s nominee – and the state voters’ choice – for President.”
Democrats desperately hoped the ruling would allow electors to be free agents, perhaps paving the way for getting rid of the Electoral College – and going with straight popular vote – as the final arbiter in the election of a president.