? What Happens If the Electoral College Is Tied
On Tuesday night, a bitter months-long presidential contest between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will finally come to a close — unless the campaign has one final surprise in store: an electoral college tie.
The states have never before yielded a tie in the electoral college. But with 538 votes in the electoral college – one for all 435 members of the House, one each for the 100 Senators, and three awarded to the Washington, D.C., — a 269-269 split is legally possible in Tuesday’s vote.
In Mr. Trump’s case, his chances of amassing 269 votes would require an assembly of states that Mrs. Clinton is favored to win. If he takes every state Mitt Romney won in 2012 plus Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and Ohio, he gets to 269. (The website 270 To Win describes 97 different possible tie-making permutations given this year’s battleground map.)
In the event of this extremely unlikely outcome, here is how the process of picking the next president would unfold.
When does the electoral college meet?
No matter the outcome of the popular vote today, the electoral college is set to meet on Dec. 19, the second Wednesday in December, as laid out in the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. Electors from each state are expected to vote then for the presidential candidate who won the popular vote in their states.
The electors don’t meet in person — they mail in ballots.
Are electors required to vote for the candidate who wins their state’s popular vote?
In about half of states, electors are legally free to vote how they choose, even contravening the popular vote in their states. If the electoral college appears deadlocked at a 269-269 split on election night, a single elector could change his or her vote and award the election either way.
Nevertheless, what happens if the electoral college meets and yields a tie?
If neither presidential candidate is wins an outright majority in the electoral college, the presidential election is sent to the House of Representatives.
In this scenario, each state’s delegation gets one vote towards the presidential election, regardless of how many representatives it sends to the House, for a total of 50 votes. As to Washington, D.C., the Constitution is ambiguous. The District of Columbia isn’t a state, but the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution grants it three electoral college votes and says “they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state.”
Each state’s delegation will hold its own ballot and cast its presidential vote for the winner. States with an even number of representatives in which the vote is split evenly are disqualified.
A presidential nominee must win votes from at least 26 states – an outright majority – to be named president.
The House is controlled by Republicans. Does that mean the it would elect Mr. Trump?
According to the 12th Amendment, Congress cannot formally count the electoral college votes until Jan. 6. But a new Congress will have been seated on Jan. 3. If Republicans maintain control of the chamber in today’s election, as expected, the odds will certainly be in Mr. Trump’s favor.
What happens if the House can’t reach a clear majority? Then who elects the President?
In this scenario, the person elected vice president would assume the presidency, under the line of succession set forth in a 1947 law.
While the Constitution grants presidential-picking authority to the House, the vice president is chosen by the Senate, with each senator given a single vote. A candidate must gain 51 votes to be named the vice president.
If no president is named by the date of the inauguration, the vice president is automatically elevated.
What if the Senate has a 50-50 partisan split?
The Senate already has an institutional tie breaker: the sitting vice president.
Tuesday night’s election could easily yield a 50-50 split between the two parties. No matter who is elected president, that chamber will be seated during the final few weeks of Barack Obama’s presidency, making Joe Biden the tie-breaker.
The Wall Street Journal
