(As Chair of the Democratic Caucus of NYSECA I will from time to time issue Memorandums of Support on Election bills before the NYS Legislature. I am posting them on my website for lawmakers and the public to know our positions. You can see my caucus’ legislative priorities here as well as the Bi-Partisan Legislative agenda for NYSECA here. This bill is part of a list of bills that we were asked to consider by Assembly members or Senators to support. You can read that list here. If you agree with this bill consider contacting your local representative and asking them to support the bill.)
Memorandum of Support
Sponsor: Skoufis/Jacobsen
Summary: Relates to requiring electors to vote for the presidential and vice-presidential candidate who was nominated by the political party that nominated the presidential elector.
Justification: The NYS Election Commissioners Association Democratic Caucus supports S438/A928, which requires electors to vote for the presidential and vice-presidential candidate who were nominated by the political party that nominated the presidential elector.
The practice of faithless electors in the United States poses significant dangers to the integrity and stability of the electoral process. This undermines the fundamental principle of representative democracy, where the will of the people is supposed to be reflected in the outcome of the electoral process. Faithless electors can disrupt the outcome of a presidential election, leading to confusion, distrust, and legal challenges. It can also erode public confidence in the electoral system and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the entire election. Additionally, faithless electors can create a situation where the candidate who did not win the popular vote in a state ends up receiving its electoral votes, which goes against the concept of "one person, one vote." The potential for faithless electors to subvert the democratic will of the people and inject uncertainty into the electoral process poses significant dangers and undermines the fundamental principles of democracy.
The Democratic Caucus supports this bill. Passing this bill will strengthen the backbone of our bi-partisan election system in New York and we urge the legislature to pass this bill and the Governor to sign it as soon as possible.
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Dustin M. Czarny 