Why do people say if the electoral college doesn't vote the way they are supposed to

[shraby]

the election will be decided by congress? This is not exactly true per the second part.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States)

The Twelfth Amendment requires each elector to cast one vote for president and another vote for vice president.[4][5] In each state and the District of Columbia, electors are chosen every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and then meet to cast ballots on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.[6] The candidates who receive an absolute majority of electoral votes among the states are elected President and Vice President of the United States when the Electoral College vote is certified by Congress in January.

(snip)

If no person receives an absolute majority of electoral votes for president, the Twelfth Amendment provides that the House of Representatives will select the president, with each of the fifty state delegations casting one vote. If no person receives a majority of electoral votes for vice president, then the Senate will select the vice president, with each of the 100 senators having one vote.[13][14]

edited to add link.

[TXCritter]

1. What are you saying?

You just posted the process. If enough electors are unfaithful so that Trump falls short of 270, congress chooses the president & VP

[ZoomBubba]

2. Which means with the current congress ...

... it would likely be Trump.

Though, it's pretty obvious that they're just waiting for an opportunity to put Pence in Trump's place.

[shraby]

3. I'm saying that if enough electors turn to a different person and all

the same person, giving that person a majority, that person will become president. It doesn't automatically get tossed to the house for a decision. The decision would have been made by the electors.

[brooklynite]

4. Which is even LESS likely than the hope that enough will switch to throw the decision to the House.

[Silent3]

6. The biggest of the already-small chances here are that just barely enough...

...electors turn away from Trump to some better-liked-by-Republicans Republican, making that person the one with the third highest votes, a candidate the House might choose over Trump. Even to get that result, you'd have to talk the Democrats in the House into voting for the non-Trump Republican, rather than for Clinton so that, together with Republicans willing to be on the record as voting against Trump, a majority could be reached.

Even a single "faithless" Trump elector switching their vote to Clinton, helping move her toward a majority, is slim to none. We have a better (and still so small it's not saying much) chance of eeking out a Clinton win via all of the recounts going her way.

[world wide wally]

5. And this is where gerrymandering DOES effect national politics

[adventurerunning]

7. So According to the 12th Amendment...

So according to the 12th Amendment, if enough faithless electors voted for a 3rd party, as long as it brought trump under 270, the presidency would go to the candidate that has the absolute majority of votes. As I read the amendment, that doesn't mean the candidate has to have over 270 as long as it's an absolute majority. So, it would take 75 electors to cast a vote for a 3rd party candidate to give Hillary Clinton the presidency, the way I read the amendment.

Trump presently has 302 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 232 electoral votes. The republican electors I've seen indicating they won't vote for trump also have indicated they won't cast their vote for Clinton either, but to an alternate republican candidate. The name most often mentioned is Kasich. All we would need is enough republican electors to throw their vote toward Kasich or another republican to at least bring trumps total below 232, which is what Hillary has. As long as all Democrats place their electoral vote for Hillary, I think this would mean Hillary would win.

The only time it falls to congress is when there is a tie in the electoral vote, most likely scenario 269-269. In that case, no one has a clear, absolute majority. But, if 75 republican electors cast a vote for a different republican, that would bring trump to 231, Hillary has 232 and that would be an absolute majority. Unless I am absolutely reading the amendment wrong. Can we count on 75 republican electors voting for a different republican candidate? Doubtful, but we can pray and hope and dream that this could happen.....