JUST IN: Electoral College members cannot go rogue and must vote as the laws of their states direct, US Supreme Court rules.
The court's opinion said presidential electors must act as their states require, which in most of the nation means voting for the candidate who won the popular vote in their states. In Maine and Nebraska, presidential electors are guided by the votes of congressional districts.If the court had ruled the other way, then individual electors who decided to vote as they wished in a close race could potentially have the power decide who wins.
Harvard Law Professor Larry Lessig, who advocates Electoral College reform, told the court that nothing in the Constitution gives states any authority to restrict how an elector can vote, because they act in a federal role when meeting as the Electoral College. The Supreme Court ruled in 1952 that states do not violate the Constitution when they require electors to pledge that they will abide by the results of the popular vote. But the justices had never before said whether it is constitutional to enforce those pledges.
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