text: The disaster factor is exactly what it sounds like: a disaster. This "disaster" is described as the event where electors defy the people they are representing. For example, this happened in the 2000 presidential vote when Al Gore won the public vote, but lost the electoral vote to George W. Bush. This means that the electors voted by the people of their state changed their minds about which president they were voting for. This resulted in the opposing vote turn-outs in the 2000 presidential election. As said in Source 2, "In the same vein, 'faithless' electors have occasionally refused to vote for their party's candidate and cast a deciding vote for whomever they please." Although some people may argue that it is very rare for something like this to happen, the fact that there is a chance that it could is overwhelming. Clearly, against even the smallest odds, the Electoral College can cause a catastrophe.