I relate to both <| sep |> A more accurate analogy would be if the scorekeepers and referees decided to give 10 points from the winning team to the losing team to change the result of the game . This is technically allowed but completely goes against the spirit of the game and would result in outrage . Twentyone states do not have laws compelling their electors to vote for a pledged candidate . Twentynine states plus the District of Columbia have laws to penalize faithless electors , although these have never been enforced . In lieu of penalizing a faithless elector , some states , such as Michigan and Minnesota , specify the faithless elector ' s vote is void , though no state has yet had cause to enforce such a provision . So yeah , many of them are bound by law to vote for the proper candidate . They could vote however they want but would be penalized . If the Electoral College did decide to vote for Hillary it would be a slap in the face of everyone who voted and would completely undermine the entire election process . Why would anyone bother voting when you can just whine afterwards to get the candidate that you want .