An Election Tie Would be a Mess

Get this! Let me see if I can untangle this mess well enough to spit it back out intelligibly. I'll make no guarantees.  The news this morning reports that it's very possible that the electoral college will return a tie in which neither candidate reaches the 270 points needed to win the election. If that happens, the Constitution dictates that the House would then decide the vote, but instead of counting up electoral votes, each state would get one vote regardless of its size.

In the House right now, Democrats control 27 states, Republicans 21, and 2 states have an equal number of representatives in both parties. The sticky part comes in to play when you consider that only 25 of the states signed into law that their representatives are required to vote per the popular vote in their states. This scenario could mean that some representatives would be voting against their own party, and under an extreme amount of pressure because of it, whether in states that require their vote to be the popular vote or not.

Both candidates would be bargaining and cajoling and doing whatever they had to do to get House representatives to vote their way. In the meantime, get this, while the candidates are in bed with the House, the Senate is in the process of choosing the Vice President. Obama could end up with Palin, and McCain could end up with Biden, regardless of which wins the presidency.

If the House doesn't choose by the time Bush leaves on January 20, the newly chosen VP becomes president. If neither the House or the Senate can make up their minds, Nancy Pelosi becomes the acting president until everyone makes up their minds!

Considering the House's decision to back the $700 billion bailout plan against a very strong and overwhelming opposition to it by the American people, your guess is as good as mine which way they'd choose in this election. It could end up in the courts, much like the 2000 Bush election, and it could drag on for quite awhile.

If this wasn't so pitiful, it would be hilarious. What if we turned against the status quo and all decided not to vote at all?  That would sure put a crimp in their plans.