Voting against the district's wishes

The representative here hears her constituents object and votes the other way anyway, because she has judged that the bill serves their long-term interest. Acting on your own judgment of what is good for the people you represent, even against what they say they want, is the trustee model.

The course sets three models side by side. A delegate votes the way the district wants. A trustee votes on personal judgment of the district's interest. A politico moves between the two depending on the issue and how closely voters are watching. One vote against stated constituent wishes, justified by long-term interest, is the trustee case in its plainest form.

Each choice

• A. A delegate does the opposite of what happens here. The delegate model means following constituents' expressed wishes, and this member hears their concerns and votes against them.
• B. A politico switches between following voters and following personal judgment from issue to issue. Nothing in one vote shows that kind of switching, and the reason given is purely her own judgment.
• C (correct). Voting on her own reading of her constituents' long-term good, over their objections, is what defines a trustee.
• D. Virtual representation was the British claim that Parliament spoke for colonists who never elected it. It is not one of the three models the course compares, and this member was elected by the people she is weighing.