John Kerry won Minnesota's popular vote in 2004, but when the state's electors met, one of them voted for his running mate, John Edwards, for president.1 The ballot read "John Ewards" for president.2 Edwards received all 10 of Minnesota's votes for vice president.3
The ballots were not signed, and none of the electors said they knew who had cast the Edwards vote.4 Most electors treated it as a mistake rather than a political statement.5 Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, who counted the ballots, said she was shocked to see the Edwards vote.6 Electors who vote this way are commonly called faithless electors; at the time, Minnesota was not among the states where parties required electors to take formal pledges.7
The vote did not change the result: George W. Bush won a second term.8 According to MinnPost, the Minnesota Legislature changed the law the next year to make electors' votes public and to replace any elector who departs from the pledge.9
During the counting of the vote in Congress, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) and Sen. Barabara Boxer (D-Calif.) raised objections to the Ohio Certificate of Vote alleging that the votes were not regularly given. Both houses voted to override the objection, 74 to 1 in the Senate and 267 to 31 in the House of Representatives.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 2004, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
Sources for each sentence
Each numbered entry quotes the words that support that sentence, as they appear on the linked page.
- Back to sentence 1
The other nine Minnesota members of the Electoral College voted for Kerry, who won the state's popular vote in November.
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_ap_electors One Minnesota elector voted for John Edwards for both President and Vice President.
archives.gov/electoral-college/2004 - Back to sentence 2
On December 13, 2004, one of the Minnesota electors wrote “John Ewards” [sic] for president
minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/12/enduring-mystery-america-s-last-faithless-elector - Back to sentence 3
Edwards received all 10 Minnesota votes for vice president
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_ap_electors - Back to sentence 4
The ballots were not signed. Neither O’Brien nor the nine other electors claimed to know who the rogue elector was.
minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/12/enduring-mystery-america-s-last-faithless-elector - Back to sentence 5
Most electors chalked the vote up as a mistake rather than a purposeful political statement.
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_ap_electors - Back to sentence 6
Kiffmeyer, a Republican, said she was shocked to see the Edwards vote when counting the ballots.
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_ap_electors - Back to sentence 7
Minnesota is not among the states where parties require their electors to take formal pledges that they'll back the ticket.
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_ap_electors Faithless electors, as defectors are known, are rare.
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_ap_electors - Back to sentence 8
Although the mistake didn’t affect the election, Republicans still wanted someone to pay a price.
minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/12/enduring-mystery-america-s-last-faithless-elector A few weeks earlier, Americans had chosen to re-elect George W. Bush for president.
minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/12/enduring-mystery-america-s-last-faithless-elector - Back to sentence 9
The statute was changed to make electors’ votes public; any electors deviating from their pledge will now be called out at the ceremony and immediately replaced.
minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/12/enduring-mystery-america-s-last-faithless-elector It was a mistake that led the Minnesota Legislature, the very next year, to tighten up the electoral process.
minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/12/enduring-mystery-america-s-last-faithless-elector
Sources checked on October 3, 2026
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