Who selects the electors, and has it always been that way?
Thanks.
The parties (Democrats, Republicans, etc.) in each state choose a slate of electors. Thus, in New York, there were 33 Republican electors, 33 Democratic electors, 33 Green electors (not that anyone thought they’d win…). Since Gore won the election in New York, the Democrat electors will be the 33 who will cast their votes.
Zev Steinhardt
More specifically, the electors are chosen by the state legislature, who nowadays just go with whoever the party of the winning candidate has chosen.
The state legislatures usually don’t choose the electors now. The parties nominate the electors for the state and they tell the appropriate elections official in the state who they are (they can’t be in Congress or hold any other Federal position). The state legislature passes the laws that set up this process, but legislatures usually don’t choose the electors.
Except possibly in Florida.