Donald Trump or Joe Biden? As question lingers, here’s what will happen if US presidential election result is a tie

The excruciatingly shut US presidential election hung within the steadiness on November 4 (Wednesday), with Democrat Joe Biden main in two important Midwestern states that might tip the competition in his favour whilst President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory and made unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

Despite incomplete outcomes from a number of battleground states that might decide the end result of the US presidential race, Trump proclaimed victory over Biden. 

In the United States, the winner of a presidential election is decided not by a nationwide vote however by a system known as the Electoral College, which allots “electoral votes” to all 50 states and the District of Columbia primarily based on their inhabitants. Complicating issues additional, an internet of legal guidelines and constitutional provisions kick in to resolve significantly shut elections.

What if a candidate doesn`t get 270 votes? One flaw of the electoral faculty system is that it might produce a 269-269 tie. If that happens, a newly elected House of Representatives would determine the destiny of the presidency on January 6, with every state`s votes decided by a delegation, as required by the 12th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Electoral College: The US president isn’t elected by a majority of the favored vote. Under the Constitution, the candidate who wins nearly all of 538 electors, often called the Electoral College, turns into the subsequent president. In 2016, Trump misplaced the nationwide in style vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton however secured 304 electoral votes to her 227.

The candidate who wins every state’s in style vote usually earns that state’s electors. This 12 months, the electors meet on Dec. 14 to forged votes. Both chambers of Congress will meet on January 6 to depend the votes and identify the winner. Normally, governors certify the ends in their respective states and share the data with Congress.

But some teachers have outlined a state of affairs during which the governor and the legislature in a intently contested state submit two completely different election outcomes. Battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina all have Democratic governors and Republican-controlled legislatures.

According to authorized specialists, it’s unclear on this state of affairs whether or not Congress ought to settle for the governor’s electoral slate or not depend the state’s electoral votes in any respect. While most specialists view the state of affairs as unlikely, there may be historic precedent. The Republican-controlled Florida legislature thought-about submitting its personal electors in 2000 earlier than the Supreme Court ended the competition between Bush and Gore. In 1876, three states appointed “duelling electors,” prompting Congress to move the Electoral Count Act (ECA) in 1887.

Under the act, every chamber of Congress would individually determine which slate of “duelling electors” to simply accept. As of now, Republicans maintain the Senate whereas Democrats management the House of Representatives, however the electoral depend is carried out by the brand new Congress, which shall be sworn in on Jan. 3.

If the 2 chambers disagree, it’s not solely clear what would occur. The act says that the electors authorised by every state’s “executive” ought to prevail. Many students interpret that as a state’s governor, however others reject that argument. The legislation has by no means been examined or interpreted by the courts.

Ned Foley, a legislation professor at Ohio State University, known as the ECA’s wording “virtually impenetrable” in a 2019 paper exploring the opportunity of an Electoral College dispute.

Another unlikely chance is that Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence, in his function as Senate president, might attempt to throw out a state’s disputed electoral votes solely if the 2 chambers can not agree, in response to Foley’s evaluation.

In that case, the Electoral College Act doesn’t clarify whether or not a candidate would nonetheless want 270 votes, a majority of the full, or might prevail with a majority of the remaining electoral votes – for instance, 260 of the 518 votes that might be left if Pennsylvania’s electors have been invalidated.

“It is fair to say that none of these laws has been stress-tested before,” Benjamin Ginsberg, a lawyer who represented the Bush marketing campaign through the 2000 dispute, informed reporters in a convention name on Oct. 20. The events might ask the Supreme Court to resolve any congressional stalemate, nevertheless it’s not sure the courtroom can be prepared to adjudicate how Congress ought to depend electoral votes.

‘CONTINGENT ELECTION’: A dedication that neither candidate has secured a majority of electoral votes would set off a “contingent election” underneath the 12th Amendment of the Constitution. That means the House of Representatives chooses the subsequent president, whereas the Senate selects the vp.

Each state delegation within the House will get a single vote. As of now, Republicans management 26 of the 50 state delegations, whereas Democrats have 22; one is break up evenly and one other has seven Democrats, six Republicans and a Libertarian. A contingent election additionally takes place within the occasion of a 269-269 tie after the election; there are a number of believable paths to a impasse in 2020.

Any election dispute in Congress would play out forward of a strict deadline – January 20, when the Constitution mandates that the time period of the present president ends. Under the Presidential Succession Act, if Congress nonetheless has not declared a presidential or vice-presidential winner by then, the Speaker of the House would function appearing president. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, is the present speaker

How does the Electoral College work? There are 538 electoral votes, which means 270 are wanted to win the election. In 2016, President Donald Trump misplaced the nationwide in style vote to Hillary Clinton however secured 304 electoral votes to her 227. Technically, Americans forged votes for electors, not the candidates themselves. Electors are usually social gathering loyalists who pledge to help the candidate who will get essentially the most votes of their state. Each elector represents one vote within the Electoral College.

The Electoral College was a compromise between the nation`s founders, who fiercely debated whether or not the president must be picked by Congress or by a well-liked vote. All however two states use a winner-take-all method: The candidate that wins essentially the most votes in that state will get all of its electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska use a extra advanced district-based allocation system that might outcome of their mixed 9 electoral votes being break up between Trump and Biden.

What if officers in a selected state can`t agree on who gained? Typically, governors certify the ends in their respective states and share the data with Congress. But it’s attainable for “duelling slates of electors,” during which the governor and legislature in a intently contested state might submit two completely different election outcomes.

The threat of this occurring is heightened in states the place the legislature is managed by a unique social gathering than the governor. Several battleground states, together with Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, have Democratic governors and Republican-controlled legislatures.
According to authorized specialists, it’s unclear on this state of affairs whether or not Congress ought to settle for the governor`s electoral slate or not depend the state`s electoral votes in any respect.

with inputs from Reuters