How Are Electors Chosen?

Every party with a presidential candidate on a state’s ballot nominates its own slate of electors, one for each electoral vote the state has. When you vote for a presidential ticket, you’re really voting for that slate. The winning party’s electors then meet in December to cast the state’s electoral votes.

The Constitution says almost nothing about who electors are or how they’re picked. Article II lets each state legislature direct how its electors are appointed and bars members of Congress and federal officeholders from serving. Everything else comes from state law and party rules, which is why the process varies from state to state.

Step one: Parties nominate slates

Most states use one of two methods:

• State party convention. The most common approach. Delegates at each party’s state convention nominate electors, often one from each congressional district plus two at-large.
• State party committee. The party’s state central or executive committee picks the slate.

Some states do it differently. A few examples:

• California: Each Democratic nominee for the U.S. House and Senate names one elector. Republican electors are drawn from the party’s recent nominees for statewide office and its legislative leaders.
• Pennsylvania: Each party’s presidential nominee chooses the state’s electors.
• Wisconsin: Each party’s legislators, state officers and candidates for those offices meet at the Capitol in early October to nominate electors.
• Florida: Electors are formally nominated by the governor, based on recommendations from each party’s state executive committee.

Many states also name alternates and let the electors who show up fill any vacancy on the day they meet. Rules change, so for any one state the best sources are its election code and the National Association of Secretaries of State summary of elector laws.

Who gets picked

Electors are typically party loyalists: state legislators, local officials, party officers, donors and longtime activists. The job is largely honorary, a reward for years of party work. Because parties choose people they trust, electors almost always vote as expected.

Step two: Voters decide which slate serves

On Election Day, voters choose among the party slates, though most ballots list only the candidates’ names. In 48 states and D.C., the statewide winner’s slate gets every elector. In Maine and Nebraska, the statewide winner’s party gets two electors, and the winner of each congressional district gets one.

After the votes are counted, the governor issues a certificate of ascertainment naming the winning electors. Under the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, the certificate is due at least six days before the electors meet, and Congress must accept it unless a court orders it corrected.

Step three: Electors cast their votes

Electors meet in their state capitals on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December (Dec. 19 in 2028) and cast separate ballots for president and vice president. The results go to Congress, which counts them on Jan. 6.

Most states now legally require electors to vote for their party’s nominees, and a growing number automatically cancel a rogue vote and replace the elector on the spot. The Supreme Court upheld those laws in Chiafalo v. Washington (2020). Electors who break their pledge are known as faithless electors.