# not enough votes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 24, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950 "2004-06-24T04:22:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950/1 "2004-06-24T04:22:54Z")

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What would happen during the election, if not enough electoral votes came in for both candidates?

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950/2 "2004-06-24T04:31:44Z")

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If neither candidate gets the necessary Electoral votes (one half + one), the election gets kicked to the House of Representatives. See [this site](http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecworks.htm) for the gory details.

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950/3 "2004-06-24T04:31:50Z")

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I think the question really is what would happen if no candidate for president achieved the minimum number of ewlectoral votes required to be declared the winner. (The electoral vote rquired is 270.)

> [@](#):
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> In the event no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral votes for president, the U.S. House of Representatives (as the chamber closest to the people) selects the president from among the top three contenders with each State casting only one vote and an absolute majority of the States being required to elect. Similarly, if no one obtains an absolute majority for vice president, then the U.S. Senate makes the selection from among the top two contenders for that office.

Source: [http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecworks.htm](http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecworks.htm)

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950/4 "2004-06-24T14:18:08Z")

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Each state gets one vote, but how does that one vote arise? Does the entire delegation vote, and whoever has the majority from that state’s delegation gets the one vote?

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-enough-votes/251950/5 "2004-06-24T15:42:57Z")

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Yep. That’s why it gets strange. The whole state of California, for example, could have been hit by a wave of sanity, and voted for Bush in the next election. No-one gets an absolute majority of electoral votes, so now California’s Reps get into the act. Seeing as how they are primarily Democrat, they vote that way, and the will of the people is subverted. Or vice versa. Or they all go nuts and vote Nader. But the Reps. vote among themselves, and then cast the state’s vote.