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Electoral College: What Happens If Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton Tie Or Do Not Reach 270?

By Louis Babcock
Published on: 21:02 PST, Nov 5, 2016

On Tuesday, the United States will be holding what many are considering the most important presidential election in generations. Donald Trump is facing off against Hillary Clinton in what has been a vicious election cycle.

The process in which the president of the United States is elected is different than other elections in the United States. Instead of going with just the majority of how the people vote, the United States uses the Electoral College to elect the President.

In the Electoral College, each state in the country is given a specific number of electors. This number is equal to the amount of U.S. Senators and U.S. Congressmen that the state sends to Washington D.C. The lowest number of electors a state can have is three which would be equal to two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Congressman. Seven states (Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Vermont) and the District of Columbia all have three electoral votes each. The state with the most electoral votes is California.

As each state votes on Tuesday, the electoral votes of each state will be allocated to the proper candidate. In order to become president of the United States, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will need to win a total of 270 electoral votes.

Over the last few days, political experts have been stating which candidate they feel will win each state, and who will end up amassing the minimum 270 Electoral College votes that are needed to become president. Many different scenarios have been passed back and forth with both Trump and Clinton each having maps giving them the 270 votes. The scenario not being talked about much is the scenario in which Clinton and Trump tie at 269 or neither one of them wins enough states to accumulate 270 Electoral College votes.

One Of The Most Likely Tie Scenarios Based On Polls And Projections

States Donald Trump can win would include AK, ID, MT, WY, UT, AZ, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, WI, IA, MO, AR, LA, IN, KY, TN, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, WV, and OH.

States Hillary Clinton can win include WA, OR, CA, NV, HI, CO, NM, MN, IL, MI, ME, NH, VT, NY, PA, VA, MA, RI, CT, NJ, DE, MD, and DC.

If the above scenario played out, Trump and Hillary would each have 269 electoral votes. So who would win in the event of an Electoral College tie?

According to the U.S. Electoral College, an election where neither candidate acquires the majority of 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives will be responsible for selecting a winner. The House of Representatives can not decide to elect whoever they want, though. The law dictates that the House can only vote on the three candidates who win the most electoral votes. Each state delegate in the House of Representatives would be allotted one vote. Whichever candidate ends up with the majority would become the president of the United States. Currently, the House of Representatives is controlled by the Republicans. The Senate would also have a job. In the Senate, each Senator would cast their vote for who they want to become Vice-President.

A tie in the Electoral College would not be unprecedented. During the election of 1800, the Electoral College found itself in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. It took the House of Representatives 36 tries to finally give Jefferson the majority of votes he needed in order to become president of the United States.

The entire year of 2016 has been a year filled with strange circumstances. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar, and the Cubs won the World Series. Would it really be a stretch to think the election on Tuesday night would not end in a tie?

Who do you think will end up winning the Electoral College?

[Featured Image By Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo]

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