Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (D-104) and State Senator James Skoufis (D-42) (A928/S438) requiring New York’s electoral voters to cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who win the state’s popular vote in the November general election.

Jacobson said, “It’s common knowledge that voters don’t vote directly for Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. Instead, they vote for electors representing each party’s candidate who are entrusted with the responsibility of casting their ballots in the electoral college in accordance with the popular vote. In most states, including New York, 100% of the electoral votes are to be cast for the candidate who wins their state’s popular vote.

In 2016, electors in four different states did not vote for the candidate who won their state. Some did not vote for Donald Trump where he won, and some did not vote for Hillary Clinton where she won. While these faithless electors did not affect the outcome of that year’s presidential election, this new law will make sure that this does not happen in New York.