Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are deadlocked in the popular vote. But the election process in US elections is quite complicated. The popular vote doesn’t decide the winner of the election but the Electoral college does. Though highly unlikely, there is a scenario where neither candidate reaches the 270 threshold and instead, they tie at 269-269.
If neither candidate reaches the required 270, the US Constitution dictates the next steps. The race would become a “contingent election” which gives Congress the responsibility of choosing the next president and vice president.
What happens if there’s a tie in US elections?
This US election features 538 electoral votes distributed among the 50 US states and Washington, D.C., based on population. To win, a presidential candidate must attain at least 270 electoral votes.
If there is a 269-269 tie or a third party candidate wins electoral votes, preventing any candidate from getting 270 votes, the step that follows is known as a “contingent election”. A contingent election is the process that takes place when the US House of Representatives decides the winner, according to Al Jazeera. Each state’s delegation in the House casts one vote, and a candidate must receive a majority of the state delegation votes to win. The Senate elects the Vice President, while the House of Representatives chooses the President.
According to the 12th Amendment, enacted in the wake of that divisive 1800 election, if no candidate gets a majority of the Electoral College votes, the new Congress, which would have just been sworn in on January 3, chooses the president. The Senate would choose the vice president. This process is detailed in Article Two, Section One, Clause Three of the Constitution.Though a tie is not a likely outcome, it is something one should be ready for. If Kamala Harris wins Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada and a single electoral vote in Nebraska, all of which Joe Biden won in 2020, but she loses Pennsylvania and Georgia, there’s a tie, 269-269, according to a report in CNN.
US elections: When will contingent election occur?
According to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service, a contingent election would occur on January 6, immediately after members of Congress met to count electoral votes and determined that no candidate had a majority, reported CNN.
What if there’s a tie in contingent election?
An even number of states means that, yes, there could in theory be yet another tie.
If there is a tie in the House of Representatives for a president, voting is repeated until one candidate gets the majority. But if there isn’t a winner by inauguration day then the vice president-elect voted in by the Senate would take office, according to Sky News.
There could also be a tie in the vice-president vote, of course, which would mean the House speaker would act as president from inauguration day until a president or vice president is agreed on.
Next in line would be the president pro tempore of the Senate, or a cabinet officer. The President and Vice President-elect are set to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
