In order for either candidate to win, they have to get 270 Electoral College votes. But it is actually possible for neither candidate to get 270. Then what happens?
To become president, they must first get enough electoral votes. If you’re not familiar with the Electoral College, here’s a quick civics lesson. Each state is assigned a certain number of votes based on the state’s population. Here in Utah, we get six votes. Whichever way the people of Utah vote will determine who gets all six of those electoral votes. To win, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes. But it’s possible that won’t happen.
With every state reporting, it is possible for the race to end in a tie, with each candidate getting only 269 votes. What happens then?
Hinckley Institute President Kirk Jowers says the chances of a tie are slim. “It’s a very unlikely scenario, but realistic. You can go play with the map on a couple different websites and come out with a very realistic 269.”
If each candidate gets 269 votes each, the American people are out, and the US House of Representatives takes over. Each state gets one vote. And if it comes to that, Jowers says Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, would almost certainly win.
“Republicans control the states,” says Jowers. “Even if they lost control of the house in numbers, there is no doubt they would still control the number of states, and so the Republican is in good shape.”
The Electoral College system is not popular. According to a 2011 Gallup Poll, only 35% of people in the country like it, compared to 60% that would like the popular vote to decide the next president. So why do we use the Electoral College? It’s in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers never wanted the presidential election to be decided by the people, they wanted it decided by the states. Getting rid of the system would require a constitutional amendment.
Matt Gephardt. Kutv.com.
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