Electoral College tie: the ultimate nightmare?

[muriel_volestrangler]

If there's a tie in the electoral college votes, the House of Representatives decides who's president, right?

The worrying thing is there's a plausible way this can happen. Looking at the electoral college votes totalled up by looking at state polls at http://www.electoral-vote.com/ today, Bush needs another 38 votes to tie with Kerry. If there were a uniform 3% swing to Bush across the USA from today's position, Bush would gain Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, gaining exactly 38 votes.

(a) gerrymandering means it's very likely the Republicans will retain the House
(b) how divisive is another election not decided by the voters going to be???

[GiovanniC]

1. The Barely Republican House

Will elect George W. Bush.

The newly Democratic Senate will elect John Kerry as the new Vice President.

Without Cheney's help, Bush will be in big trouble.

The Democrats in the House will grow a spine and will issue articles of impeachment.

The Senate will impeach Bush.

John Kerry will become the 44th President of the United States.

President Kerry will appoint John Edwards as his Vice President.



A guy can dream, no?

[freetobegay]

3. I could live with that!

[forgethell]

5. Not necessarilly

The vice-president has no real power, only what he is allowed by the president. so John Kerry gets shut out. Dick Cheney is given some white house job, and things merrily continue.

The house will never issue articles of impeachment to GWB if it has a R majority, which it would have to have if he were to get the presidency the way you envision. If it did, the Senate, even with a Democratic majority would never impeach. We've taught the Rs too well about needing to have 2/3 of the votes to get things done.

[freetobegay]

2. The House would need a Quorum

If they don't have a quorum they can't vote. Well it's a least thinking about.

[Walt Starr]

4. Electoral College Tie is not a nightmare, it is no different from a loss

Seriously, anything other than a majority of the EC is what it is, a loss. The House decides in the case of a tie and that is a loss for us.

It couldn't be any more simple, we have a higher bar than Bush, they know it, and they are exploiting it.