Home Lawyers Practice Areas About Blog Contact Join Our Team If an Electoral College Tie Happened Then Who Would Be President?

 

What Would Happen if There Was a 269-to-269 Electoral College Tie?

Right now, the United States is in an election season. It’s hard, if not impossible to escape the seemingly endless amount of political ads, posts, and yard signs telling you who to vote for. This season won’t last much longer, however, because election day is less than a month away on November 3rd. But what if we don’t get our answer that night? What if there’s an Electoral College tie?

In America, the President of the United States is not chosen by the voters but rather chosen by the Electoral College. The Electoral College votes on behalf of their state. There are 538 Electoral College votes, and they are distributed across the states, giving higher population states more votes, and the lower population states fewer votes. The entirety of a state’s Electoral College votes goes to the candidate who won the majority of the votes in that state. To win the Presidency of the United States, it takes 270 Electoral College votes to win. With many simulations being run about how states could swing in this election, people have noticed that the possibility of a 269-to-269 Electoral College tie is real.

You can run an election day simulation here.

So What Would Happen?

If there is a tie on election night, there is still a possibility that the vote could change. An Electoral College member could flip the other way and vote for the other candidate. It is called a “faithless elector”, and although it is illegal in some states, it is only frowned upon in others. If this were to happen, it would be on December 14th, when the Electoral College meets to cast their votes.

Congress meets on January 6th to count the Electoral Votes. If there is still a tie, or neither candidate gets to 269 (because a third-party candidate takes some votes), then the House of Representatives and the Senate will elect the President and Vice President. The House chooses the President, and the Senate chooses the Vice President. This vote takes place after the new members of Congress are sworn in from this upcoming election so majorities could switch.

Congress Picks

In the House of Representatives, each state gets one vote each to pick the next President of the United States. There are 50 votes, so 26 are needed to win. The 100 Senators get to vote for the Vice President and need a 51 vote majority to win.

If the House of Representatives vote is still tied at 25-to-25 by January 20th, when the President is supposed to be sworn in, then the Vice President assumes the role of President until the House of Representatives picks a President.

It will more than likely never go that far, but the constitution’s written to make sure that we know what to do just in case it does happen.

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What is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

 

The 2022 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

Did you know that the United States gives out up to free 55,000 visas every year almost like a raffle? Seriously, the Department of State issues up to 55,000 visas from their Diversity Immigrant Visa Program every year. The visa issued is called a Diversity Visa.

This visa is available to “diversity immigrants” only. People immigrating to the U.S. from a country with a historically low rate of immigration to the U.S. would be classified as a “diversity immigrant.”

It is free to apply for a Diversity Visa (DV) and selectees are picked at random by a computer drawing. Applications for the 2022 DV will begin on Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 and will last until November 10th, 2020.

How Do you Qualify for a Diversity Visa?

It’s quite simple, the first requirement is that you must be a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. That list will be shown below. The second requirement is that you must either have at least a high school education or an equivalent, or have two years of work experience in a job that requires at least two years of training, school, or experience.

If you want to immigrate to the United States, but you are a native of a country that is not on the list of eligible countries, there are still two options to qualify for the DV. The first option is, if you have a spouse who is a native of a country eligible for the DV, then you can apply under their country of birth.

The second option to be eligible for the DV even though your country is not on the list is if neither of your parents were born in your native country nor were legal residents of your native country at the time of your birth. If this is so, you may claim the country of either parent if such country is on the DV list.

If you meet both requirements, then you can apply free of charge between the dates listed above. Applications must be submitted online at dvprogram.state.gov. Starting on May 8th, of 2021, applicants can return to the same website to check on their DV status to see if they have been selected.

List of countries that are eligible for the 2022 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program:

Africa

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, The Ghana Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Asia

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Europe 

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau Special Administrative Region, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vatican City

North America

The Bahamas

Oceania

Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Federated States of Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

South America, Central America, and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela

 

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