Experts predict the presidential election The pandemic is coming. So should people prepare for the unexpected?
There is really only one possibility in this scenario: a contingent election.
What is this?
Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of contingent elections. The term isn’t even mentioned in the Constitution. However, Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment address the process for resolving a dispute in the Electoral College when no candidate receives the magic number of 270 electoral votes. Or, if there is a tie.
The United States has only had contingent elections three times: in 1801, to elect President Thomas Jefferson. Then in 1825, to elect President John Quincy Adams. Finally, in 1837, to elect Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson.
In a contingent election, the House of Representatives chooses the president, while the Senate chooses the vice president.
But first let’s explore scenarios for a complicated Electoral College recount – which could trigger a contingent election.
The possibility of a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College is real. Suppose Vice President Harris loses Pennsylvania and Georgia. But she wins Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. and Wisconsin. Harris also receives a single electoral vote in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Maine and Nebraska allocate their electoral votes based on which presidential candidate wins each congressional district. For example, in 2020, Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, won — even though President Biden won the district. In Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, won. Yet former President Trump defeated Mr. Biden in that district. Nebraska has five electoral votes. Mr. Trump received four. President Bidenone. Maine has four electoral votes. The president got three. But former President Trump got one.
There are other scenarios that could lead to a tie in the Electoral College.
Fast forward to January 6, the day the House and Senate meet in a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College. We know what happened in 2021, when Republicans fought over slates of electoral votes in six states. If Congress fails to certify a winner, or if there are disputes over multiple batches of electoral votes, it’s possible that no candidate will reach 270.
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So, it is then up to the Chamber of Deputies to choose the president and the Senate, the vice president, in a contingent election.
Here comes the fascinating part.
Each state votes as a state delegation – but receives only one vote in a contingent election. In other words, California, with its 52-member delegation made up of 40 Democrats, counts as much as South Dakotawith its only republican.
