Most national polls in the US Election suggest it’ll be a neck-to-neck match between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It’s a closely watched contested one in recent US history.
But have you wondered what would happen if neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump achieved the Electoral College majority required to win the US election?
We hope such a scenario never happens for the sake of the people of America and Journalists.
But let’s try to understand if it does…
Unlike in India, the popular vote does not decide who wins the election. In the US, there is a 538-member “Electoral College,” in which each state gets as many “electors” as its representation in Congress.
Every state except Nebraska and Maine awards their electors to whoever comes first in the state-wide popular vote.
If Harris and Trump fail to reach the majority threshold of 270 electors, the US Constitution says that Congress would decide the election.
All powers would then be vested in Congress; the race would become a “contingent election,” which would give Congress the responsibility of choosing the next president and vice president.
For the record, the last time a tie forced Congress to pick the president was in the 1800 election, which pitted Thomas Jefferson against incumbent president John Adams.
What If…
According to the 12th Amendment, 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.
“Each state, regardless of population, casts a single vote for President in a contingent election,” according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
In simple words, Republican-leaning Wyoming’s city-sized population of 500,000 would have the same influence as Democratic California, where 39 million people live.
Size does not matter!
Unfortunately, Washington, who has three Electoral College votes cannot participate in the continent elections.
Why?
Washington is not a state.
A CRS report said states with two or more representatives would need to hold an internal vote to determine which candidate to support.
A candidate must win a majority of the 50 states or 26 votes.
If you go by the reports, this means Republicans probably will have an edge.
When Will The 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.
