After the Jan. 6 riot ended, Congress proceeded with the formality of certifying the presidential election. However think about how contentious the day may need been if Congress’s position had been greater than a formality. If no candidate had achieved an Electoral School majority—due to both a three-party cut up, faithless electors or a 269-269 tie—Congress would have chosen the president.
Absent an electoral majority, the twelfth Modification requires the Home (the newly elected one, seated on Jan. 3) to decide on the president from among the many high three finishers. However representatives don’t vote individually. As a substitute, every state delegation casts a single vote for president from the highest three finishers, and a majority of states are wanted—a constitutional anomaly, because it departs from the Home’s democratic construction. Within the present Home, though the Democrats have a slim majority, Republican state delegations outnumber Democratic ones, 27-20 (the Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania delegations are evenly cut up). The present Home would presumably elect a Republican regardless of its Democratic majority.
But when the Home had extra evenly cut up delegations—23 states have a good variety of seats—it’s totally doable that no candidate might get the required majority of 26 states within the Home. Likewise in a three-candidate race. If that got here to move, the vice president-elect—chosen by the Senate from the highest two candidates absent an electoral majority—would turn out to be appearing president on Inauguration Day.
This course of poses potential conflicts of curiosity for congressional leaders. In an evenly cut up Senate, the incumbent vice chairman would forged the deciding vote. In eight of the previous 10 elections, the vice chairman was on his celebration’s ticket. And if Congress fails to decide on both a president or a vice chairman, the Home speaker would turn out to be appearing president on Jan. 20.
One other drawback: What if the Home elects a president of 1 celebration and the Senate elects a vice chairman of the opposite? The vice presidency was as soon as an administrative backwater, however lately the vice chairman has an workplace within the West Wing and participates in essentially the most intimate discussions of the administration because it develops insurance policies. A partisan rivalry would doubtless immediate the president to exclude the vice chairman. However then the vice chairman wouldn’t be able to take over if the president leaves workplace or is quickly incapacitated.
