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What will happen if Trump and Harris tie in the Electoral College?

Pabio November 6, 2024

The race for the White House between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris has been tight as Election Day approaches.

As previously reported by Tennesseenational polls leading up to Election Day on November 5 gave Harris a slight edge over Trump. The final results of the race, however, will not be known until several days after election day.

It’s still everyone’s race.

The Electoral College, created in 1787, is the system used to determine how the President of the United States is elected. To secure the presidency, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes.

Is it possible to be tied in the Electoral College? Here’s what you need to know.

What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?

It is possible that two candidates each get 269 votes, but this is highly unlikely. If this happens, a complicated process follows.

First, newly elected members of the House of Representatives would come together to vote for the new president. Here, each state’s delegation would get one vote. For example, the 52 members of the California House of Representatives would have one vote equivalent to that of the single member from Wyoming, according to USA.gov.

Then the Senate would meet to vote for the new vice president, so theoretically a Harris-Vance or Trump-Walz administration could be possible.

In the Senate, each senator would have their own vote, with a simple majority needed to choose a winner. According to 270towin.comit would take a majority of senators (51) to win.

Does a tie in the Electoral College mean a tie for the presidency?

Not exactly.

Voters meet on December 17 to vote. Only about half of states have laws requiring their electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote, so an elector voting for another candidate is a possibility, reported 270towin.

It is likely that the tie will remain undecided after voters vote.

On January 6, the newly formed Congress will meet to count the electoral votes. If no candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, then the House and Senate take over and elect the president and vice president, respectively.

Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana