ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson Testifies in Support of Faithless Elector Cleanup Bill in Massachusetts

On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson spoke before the Massachusetts state legislature in favor of S.3186, a bill that would prevent the possibility that a "faithless" presidential elector votes against the will of the people. The legislation draws on a model developed by the Uniform Law Commission and which has already been adopted by 28 other states, including four others this year alone.

In his testimony to the Joint Committee on Election Laws, Johnson emphasized that increasing polarization and partisanship makes the need for this legislation increasingly urgent.

"Our nation used to be able to rely on norms of fair conduct to stand firm even in areas of legal uncertainty, but those norms have been deeply undermined by win-at-all-cost politics," Johnson said. "Electoral votes should reflect the will of the people, but here in Massachusetts our current laws don’t completely assure that they will."

The legislation would bring Massachusetts into confirmity with the federal 2022 Electoral Count Reform Act and ensure that faithless electors cannot change the outcome of closely contested elections.

"The goal is not to change outcomes.  It's to ensure that outcomes can't be changed at the last minute."