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I won't get too much into the various possibilities, but simply put, if neither candidate has 270 electoral votes, then the election is decided by congress, the incoming one. So really there is no chance its not trump.



Right, and congress must vote from the available candidates, and couldn't pick anyone? Obviously none of this will happen, but it's fun to think about I think.

If you've seen the tv show Veep, they play around with a similar scenario, but one where the electoral college is tied. In the show, congress also ends up in a tie, and so elects the vice president into office instead. As far as I understand the rules though, the vice president would only be elevated to president in case congress can't resolve the matter before inauguration day, and will only hold the office until congress resolves the tie and picks a president.

I probably have most of this wrong, but I think it's very interesting to hypothesize about the possibilities, no matter how remote. I obviously don't think any of this would happen, but it's fun to think about.


Only the top three are considered (12th amendment).

The House selects the President, and the Senate selects the Vice-President.


I've always been intrigued with the idea that it could come down to a president from one party and a vp from another!


That is intriguing, and horrible.

Until the 12th amendment, there were no running mates. First place in the electoral college was President, and 2nd place was VP.

In the 1796 election (John Adams and Thomas Jefferson), the President and VP happened to be bitter enemies -- parties were forming -- and 8 years later that system was done away with.

As you point out, it is still possible it could happen, though less likely.




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