The Supreme Court decides that Electoral College delegates have "no ground for reversing" the statewide popular vote.

The Supreme Court decides that Electoral College delegates have "no ground for reversing" the statewide popular vote.

Supreme Court has unanimously upheld laws across the country that remove or punish rogue Electoral College delegates who refuse to cast their votes for the presidential candidate they were pledged to support.

Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan, in a decision peppered with references to the Broadway show Hamilton and the TV show Veep, said Electoral College delegates have "no ground for reversing" the statewide popular vote.

Monday's Supreme Court decision, however, is so strong that it would seem to allow states to remove faithless electors even without a state law.

For centuries, almost all electors have considered themselves bound to vote for the winner of the state popular vote.

The system has been considered a formality because usually the winner of the popular vote also wins the Electoral College.

But twice in the past two decades, the unexpected took place: The winner of the popular vote did not become president; instead, the winner in the Electoral College prevailed.

Bush became president, winning five more Electoral College votes than Al Gore, though Gore won roughly half a million more popular votes.

Several states have signed on to a proposal to sidestep the Electoral College altogether by joining a "National Popular Vote Interstate Compact" to pledge their Electoral College votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote, regardless of how the candidates perform in their state.

Flawed as the Electoral College system may be, at the oral arguments in May, the justices expressed concern about tinkering with laws that bind the delegates to vote for the popular vote winner in their states

Justice Samuel Alito observed that if the popular vote is close, the possibility of "changing just a few votes" in the Electoral College would rationally "prompt the losing party ..