# Electoral tie, Republican Congress. What happens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 2, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420 "2016-11-02T04:49:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/41 "2016-11-03T08:24:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > There is no chance whatsoever that the Republicans would vote for anyone other than Trump. I am incredulous there is any speculation to the contrary. It’s one of the last sad hopes of NeverTrump conservatives. They’ve been devising these fantasies since early this year. The “establishment lane” was going to pick a candidate to beat Trump (even though Trump was the #2 choice of many of the “establishment” candidates’ voters), then Cruz and Kasich were going to team up to consolidate delegates against Trump, then the rules committee was going to do some procedural magic to block him, then the convention was going to revolt, then Trump was going to be made to drop out, etc. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/42 "2016-11-03T16:00:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The Republican representatives would of course vote for the Republican candidate. I wouldn’t like this situation at all, of course, as it would lead to Trump becoming President, but even I can’t say that it’d be any sort of foul play. The Constitution says what happens if no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, and what the Constitution says is that it then goes to the House. It doesn’t say that it goes to the winner of the popular vote, it doesn’t say that it goes to the candidate with the greater level of governmental experience, it doesn’t even say that the House should carefully consider such matters. It says it goes to the House, and the House delegations from the majority of states are of the party that supports Trump, so that’s what happens. This. Anything else is fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/43 "2016-11-03T17:12:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > This. Anything else is fantasy. I’m afraid that’s true. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/44 "2016-11-03T17:50:48Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The really interesting thing is that there’s a way for Republicans to engineer Paul Ryan into the White House: > > [http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2012/11/an-electoral-college-tie-explained/](http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2012/11/an-electoral-college-tie-explained/) One small problem: according to Article I, Section 3, if the Senate is tied in its vote, Vice-President Kerry breaks the tie. Nowhere in the 12th Amendment does it say that only the Senators vote; it says that “the Senate shall choose the Vice-President.” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/45 "2016-11-03T18:36:29Z")
Any Republican representative who voted McMullin rather than Trump wouldn’t have to fear the voters for 2 years, anyway. 2 years is an eternity in voter goldfish memory. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/46 "2016-11-03T18:48:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Actually, a deadlock is a very real possibility. I think Selena Meyer put it best: “Didn’t those Founding Fuckers ever hear of an odd number?” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/47 "2016-11-03T19:01:56Z")
IF there is a failure of the Electoral College to hit a majority, it’d probably be due to Utah going to McMullin in a very close race. 269-269 is possible but a less likely scenario. Theoretically this could happen: > **[270toWin - 2024 Presidential Election Interactive Map](https://www.270towin.com/maps/dR2jl)** > > Create your own forecast for the 2024 presidential election ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/48 "2016-11-03T19:25:56Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > I think Selena Meyer put it best: “Didn’t those Founding Fuckers ever hear of an odd number?” Of course, the Founders did not establish the present number of electoral votes. Throughout American history, the total available for a given election often _has_ been an odd number. Though, because there can be more than two candidates, that does not forestall the possibility of no majority result. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/49 "2016-11-03T20:04:48Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > There is no chance whatsoever that the Republicans would vote for anyone other than Trump. I am incredulous there is any speculation to the contrary. So why wouldn’t they vote for McMullin? He’s a Republican too. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/50 "2016-11-03T20:07:29Z")
> [@](#): > > So why wouldn’t they vote for McMullin? He’s a Republican too. Because he didn’t get the most votes in their state (presumably) and (again, presumably) got less than 5% of the national vote. And that will alienate the vastly larger number of people who voted for Trump. And someone with that small a percentage of the vote being named President will make the US a laughingstock. And people who didn’t even bother to vote will find it outrageous. And if all the GOP didn’t do it lockstep, Clinton could still end up president. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/51 "2016-11-03T20:19:07Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > someone with that small a percentage of the vote being named President will make the US a laughingstock. Not as much a laughingstock as Trump being president. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/52 "2016-11-03T20:30:57Z")
I take the job in Switzerland. How do you say “Eat a bag of dicks” in German? ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/53 "2016-11-03T21:17:05Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Not as much a laughingstock as Trump being president. Sorry, but no. Not the way I mean. Electing a crappy leader - happens. Congress appoints the guy with \<5% of the vote - country can no longer be taken seriously as a democracy (republic) and is the butt of every joke, everywhere, and gets compared to all those other places where a person’s vote doesn’t count at all. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/54 "2016-11-04T04:12:47Z")
And McMullin’s not even running as a Republican: [Evan McMullin 2016 presidential campaign - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_McMullin_presidential_campaign,_2016) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/55 "2016-11-04T15:55:30Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > One small problem: according to Article I, Section 3, if the Senate is tied in its vote, Vice-President Kerry breaks the tie. Nowhere in the 12th Amendment does it say that only the Senators vote; it says that “the Senate shall choose the Vice-President.” I think you meant Biden, no? 😉 But in any event, the 12th does say that, later on: > [@](#): > > … the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and **a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice.** There has to be a majority of the whole number of Senators to choose the VP. That means 51 Senators. Biden is not a Senator and therefore has no role in the vote for a VP. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/56 "2016-11-04T16:24:52Z")
The degree the real answer is below 100% Trump is just the likelihood of a mega-negative revelation about Trump, far worse than anything so far, between a 269-269 election and when the House would vote. As of now there aren’t anywhere near enough committed sitting anti-Trump GOP House members for any other outcome but Trump to be plausible. And a lot of the weak support for Trump in elected GOP is based on belief he’ll lose outright, and a few GOP’ers in competitive House races that their own CYA move is to distance themselves from Trump. That’s not going to extend to the political suicide of voting in some known quantity ‘establishment’ GOP’er who didn’t run (though eg. Paul Ryan will get _some_ tiny % of write in votes), or Hillary Clinton, and voting in an unknown like McMullin as President, even though he sounds much more reasonable to typical conservative ears than Trump, is perhaps the most fantastic scenario of all. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/57 "2016-11-08T02:12:52Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Of course, the Founders did not establish the present number of electoral votes. Throughout American history, the total available for a given election often _has_ been an odd number. Though, because there can be more than two candidates, that does not forestall the possibility of no majority result. Yes, Selena Meyer is no historian. (I will point out that having two senators per state guarantees having an even number of senators, though.) Still, the quote has pith, right? Here’s another: “Two great Greek contributions to society: democracy and getting fucked up the ass.” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/58 "2016-11-08T09:11:52Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Sorry, but no. Not the way I mean. Electing a crappy leader - happens. Congress appoints the guy with \<5% of the vote - country can no longer be taken seriously as a democracy (republic) and is the butt of every joke, everywhere, and gets compared to all those other places where a person’s vote doesn’t count at all. Why? I bet every single Republican Trump voter would be happy with McMullin. And remember that the American political system is explicitly set up so that voters do not have the final say: it’s down to electors and then the states. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/59 "2016-11-08T11:38:01Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Why? I bet every single Republican Trump voter would be happy with McMullin. … Huh? What part of “I was mad as hell before Nov 8th, so I voted for Trump and instead I got McMullin through some shady backroom deal. So now I’m totally satisfied my vote was heard.” makes sense to you? Zero of it makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420/60 "2016-11-08T12:37:59Z")
What happens? Trump victory 99.9% chance In the event of an Electoral College deadlock where no candidate reaches 270 EVs, the House would vote for Trump unless something really damning happens at the 11th hour such as a video surfacing of DT snorting blow with underage Russian hookers. There are only about a dozen Republican members of the House who publicly oppose Trump. The state delegations would easily be a Trump majority as others have noted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electoral-tie-republican-congress-what-happens/770420.md?page=2)