SUMMARY: STATE LAWS REGARDING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS November 2016 This document provides a summary of the laws in each state relevant to the certification of presidential electors and the meeting of those electors to cast votes for the President and Vice President. In most states, the selection/nomination of presidential electors takes place at meetings or conventions of the political parties held in each state during a Presidential election year. Generally, the process and procedures for selecting presidential electors is based on the particular bylaws, rules, regulations, etc. of the various political parties in each state. This document references the state laws directing the political parties to certify the names of the presidential electors to the Secretary of State or other chief election officials following their selection. Note that while not covered in this document, independent presidential candidates, and presidential candidates representing certain political organizations, who gain ballot access by petition, as well as presidential write-in candidates who file a declaration or statement of write-in candidacy (where applicable) also designate presidential electors. State laws generally require that these candidates include the names of the electors when they file the petition, declaration, etc. with the appropriate state election official. The United States Constitution and federal statutes provide the basic requirements for voting by the presidential electors (see links below for additional information on these laws). State laws reflect these requirements and generally vary with regard to whether/how additional procedures are covered. For example, while most states address the issue of a vacancy among electors, the process for filling a vacancy may vary among states. Also, while 29 states and Washington DC require that presidential electors cast their vote for the presidential candidate for the party they were selected to represent, the specific requirements and procedures vary. For example, some laws simply state that electors must vote for the candidate of the party they represent, while others require electors sign an oath or a pledge. Also, some states specify what happens if an elector violates the requirement, for example in some states this is treated as a vacancy which is filled accordingly. A few states also provide criminal penalties if an elector violates the requirement. Individuals with questions about political party procedures for selecting or nominating presidential electors, or state laws concerning the meeting of the presidential electors and casting of votes, should contact the relevant state political parties, or state election officials, as appropriate. Resources: National Conference of State Legislatures: (NCSL) - The Electoral College National Archives and Records Administration: (NARA) - About the Electors - What is the Electoral College - Federal Electoral College Provisions - Electoral College FAQs State The certificate of nomination by political party convention for candidates for President and Vice President must be signed by the presiding Alabama officer and secretary of the convention and by the chair of the state executive or central committee of the political party making the nomination. The certificate of nomination must include the names of the individual selected as presidential electors, and a statement signed by the electors affirming that they will cast their ballot as an elector for the candidates for President and Vice President for whom they agreed to serve as an elector. The electors of President and Vice President are to assemble at the office of the Secretary of State, at the seat of government at 12:00 noon on the second Tuesday in December next after their election, or at that hour on such other day as may be fixed by Congress, to elect such President and Vice President, and those of them present at that hour must at once proceed by ballot and plurality of votes to supply the places of those who fail to attend on that day and hour. Code of Alabama § 17-14-31 Alaska The candidates for electors of President and Vice-President of the United States shall be selected by the state party convention or in any other manner prescribed by the bylaws of the party. The party shall require from each candidate for elector a pledge that as an elector the person will vote for the candidates nominated by the party of which the person is a candidate. The chairperson and secretary of the state convention or any other party official designated by the party bylaws shall certify a list of the names of candidates for electors to the director of elections. Any qualified voter except a United States senator or representative or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States may be selected as a candidate for elector. The electors shall meet at the office of the director of elections or other place designated by the director at 11:00 o'clock in the morning on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following their election. If Congress fixes a different day for the meeting, the electors shall meet on the day designated by the Act of Congress. If there is a vacancy caused by death, failure to attend, ineligibility, or other cause, and if available alternates have not been designated, the electors shall fill the vacancy by plurality vote. After any vacancies have been filled, the electors shall proceed to cast their votes for the candidates for the office of President and Vice- President of the party that selected them as candidates for electors, (Alaska Stat. §§ 15.30.020, 15.30.030, 15.30.040, 15.30.070, 15.30.080, 15.30.090). Arizona The chairman of the state committee of a political party which is qualified for representation on an official party ballot at the primary election and accorded a column on the general election ballot shall appoint candidates for the office of presidential elector and must file nomination papers with the Secretary of State for each candidate and an affidavit including facts sufficient to show that the candidate resides in the state and will be qualified at the time of the election to hold the office of presidential elector. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-341, 16-344) Arkansas In each year in which a President and Vice President of the United States are chosen, each political party or group in the state shall choose by its state convention electors of President and Vice President of the United States. The state convention of the party or group shall also choose electors at large if any are to be appointed for the state. The state convention of the party or group, by its chair and secretary, shall certify to the Secretary of State the total list of electors together with electors at large so chosen. The electors shall meet at the office of the Secretary of State, in a room to be designated by him or her in the State Capitol Building, at the time appointed by the laws of the United States at the hour of 10:00 a.m. of that day, and give their votes for President and for Vice President of the United States. In case any person duly elected an elector of President and Vice President of the United States shall fail to attend at the Capitol on the day on which his or her vote is required to be given, it shall be the duty of the electors of President and Vice President attending at the time and place to appoint persons to fill the vacancies. (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 7-8-302, 7-8-306, 7-8-307). California Presidential electors are designated by the political parties (see California Elections Code Ann. § 7100 for Democratic Party selection of electors; see §7300 for Republican party selection of electors). Whenever a political party submits to the Secretary of State its certified list of nominees for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of State shall notify each candidate for elector of his or her nomination by the party. The electors chosen shall assemble at the State Capitol at 2 o'clock in the afternoon on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following their election. In case of the death or absence of any elector chosen, or if the number of electors is deficient for any other reason, the electors then present shall elect, from the citizens of the state, as many persons as will supply the deficiency. The electors, when convened, if both candidates are alive, shall vote by ballot for that person for President and that person for Vice President of the United States, who are, respectively, the candidates of the political party which they represent, one of whom, at least, is not an inhabitant of this state. The electors shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in separate ballots the person voted for as Vice President. The electors shall make separate lists of all persons voted for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign, certify, seal, and transmit by mail to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. (California Elections Code Ann. §§ 6901, 6904, 6905, 6906, 6907, 6908). Colorado Any convention of delegates of a political party or any committee authorized by resolution of the convention may nominate presidential electors. All nominations for vacancies for presidential electors made by the convention or a committee authorized by the convention shall be certified by affidavit of the presiding officer and secretary of the convention or committee. Political parties must file with the secretary of state a certificate of nomination for presidential electors.