2012 ELECTION

[HairOfTheDog]

WHAT IF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES TIE @ 269 EACH?

Some political analysts believe that there is a possibiity that the 2012 campaign could result in a tied number of electoral college votes for Obama and Romney. If this were to happen, the House of Representatives would vote to decide the president (regardless of popular vote). The last time a "contigent election," as it's known, occurred was 1824.

The Senate would decide the Vice President by a simple majority vote. So, theoretically, you could have a Republican POTUS and and a Democratic VPOTUS if a contingent election were to occur.

Snipped:
...here's one plausible scenario in which no candidate wins an Electoral College majority in November:

Romney tears up Obama's 2008 map and wins New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Nevada.

Obama, meanwhile, keeps Colorado, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the Democratic column.

That combination of states adds up to 269 votes for each candidate -- and that's just one of several realistic scenarios yielding the same outcome.



The article touches on likely repercussions to the electoral college system (which is part of what makes the US a republic, rather than a democracy) in today's world, as compared to when the electoral college vote tied back in 1824. Interesting read, imo.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/26/politics/e...index.html