Senate Bill 458
Enacts the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act
Remarks by Senator Pat Spearman
Senate Legislative Operations and Elections
May 7, 2013
Purpose of Measure
Senate Bill 458 proposes to enact the Uniform Faithful Presidential
Electors Act.
Introductory Remarks
Thank you, Mister Chair and members of the Committee. For the
record, I am Pat Spearman, representing Senate District No. 1 in Clark
County.
I am here today to introduce Senate Bill 458 for your
consideration.
S.B. 458 proposes to enact the Uniform Faithful
Presidential Electors Act, which has been drafted by the Uniform
Law Commission.
Reason for the Bill
As you know, the Uniform Law Commission was created more than
100 years ago to provide the states with recommended nonpartisan
legislation for the purpose of clarifying critical issues that have
confronted or will confront the states. S.B. 458 is based on a proposal
from the Commission to address the historically persistent possibility
Assembly Committee: Legislative Ops & Elections
Exhibit: N Page 1 of 6 Date: 05/07/13
Submitted by: Senator Pat Spearman
that presidential electors may not vote faithfully for their parties’
candidates for president and vice president.
Electoral College
In order for this to make sense, let me briefly remind the members
that, when we vote on Election Day every four years, we are not
really voting for the candidates—we are voting for electors who
eventually vote in the Electoral College for president and vice
president.
As we all recall from our history classes, this system made sense in
the 1780s, when communication and transportation were difficult.
It probably does not make sense now.
Nevertheless, the Electoral
College exists, and, unless the U.S. Constitution is amended to revise
or repeal this institution, it will continue to govern how our
president and vice president are finally selected.
So, here is the timeline:
 The major and minor parties at their conventions select a number
of electors equal to the number of votes we get in the Electoral
College. These names are provided to the Secretary of State.
2
N-2
 We, the people, vote on Election Day. Even though our ballot—
called the “short ballot”—lists the candidates, we are actually
voting for the electors, whose names were submitted by the
parties. Years ago, I understand, on a “long ballot” the names
of electors were actually listed on the ballots.
 In mid-December, the electors from the party whose candidates
receive the most votes for president and vice president meet in
Carson City to vote.
 Their votes are sealed, certified, and submitted to the Archivist
of the United States and to Congress.
 These votes are opened at the first meeting of the new
Congress in January and the winners are officially declared.
Faithless Electors
The problem centers on the word “faithful,” or more accurately
“faithless,” electors. These are electors who, for whatever reason, do
not vote for their party’s candidate.
At the beginning of the Republic—before there were any political
parties—the intent was that these electors would meet as a “college” to
deliberate and select the best men for the office of president and
vice president. These electors actually selected George Washington
3
N-3
as the first president, for example. The emergence of political parties
altered that deliberative process.
The U.S. Constitution permits the states to determine how their
electors will be selected. Unless a state enacts a law, there is no
requirement that an elector remain faithful to the party that
selected him or her.
As our presidential elections become more contentious and the margin
of popular votes closes, a faithless elector has the potential to create
confusion in the outcome of an election.
Senate Bill 458
The Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act is an attempt to address
this. It provides the following:
 Each major party and minor party shall choose nominees to the
position of elector and alternates, who are legally registered
members of the party. An independent candidate can also choose
electors.
 A nominee or alternate may not serve as an elector unless he or
she signs a pledge to vote only for the candidates for president
and vice president who received the highest number of votes
4
N-4
in this State at the General Election. This pledge will be filed
with the Secretary of State.
 The Secretary of State shall preside at the meeting of the
electors. The Secretary shall provide each elector with ballots for
the persons who received the highest number of votes at the
General Election. The electors will sign the ballots and return
them to the Secretary.
 If an elector returns a ballot that does not conform to the General
Election results—that in fact violates the elector’s pledge—the
Secretary shall refuse to accept the ballot and shall deem
the position vacant. The alternate elector will then vote—the bill
includes a process to appoint an elector if no designated alternate
is available.
 The Secretary will seal the votes, prepare a certificate of
ascertainment, and submit the votes to the Archivist of the
United States.
The main difference between the existing provisions of Chapter 298 of
the Nevada Revised Statutes and the Uniform Law Commission’s
proposal is that Nevada does not currently require a pledge of
faithfulness and the Secretary of State has no enforcement authority.
5
N-5
Conclusion
The Uniform Law Commission notes that approximately 30 states have
taken some action to discourage or forbid faithless electoral votes.
Some assess penalties or provide that faithless voting constitutes
resignation from the office of elector.
While there have been only 11 instances of faithless electors, according
to the Congressional Quarterly, 9 of those have occurred since 1948.
Even though that is a small number, the possibility remains that an
elector might cast an unexpected rogue vote to make a statement or
might change a vote as a result of pressure from some unscrupulous
agent. The stakes could not be high.
The Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act seeks to forestall the
problem from arising, by binding electors to the pledge they make as
a condition of being chosen as an elector.
S.B. 458 is a good bill. It is preventative in nature. It is nonpartisan
and ensures Nevadans that we are serious about safeguarding the
will of the people expressed in their votes.
I ask the Committee to act favorably on this bill. I will be happy to
answer any questions.
W134652
6
N-6