What happens if tie in presidential election

The amendment states that if no candidate wins the majority of Electoral votes, the election is thrown to the House to serve as a tie-breaker, but only the top three Electoral vote-getters make the cut. That seemingly harmless provision of the 12th Amendment had serious ramifications in the presidential election, in which four candidates received substantial Electoral votes, denying the front-runner Andrew Jackson the majority required to claim the presidency.

Because only the top three vote-getters moved on to the contingency election in the House, the fourth-place finisher, Henry Clay, was out of the running. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

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Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Share this page Follow Ballotpedia. What's on your ballot? Jump to: navigation , search. This article covers subjects specific to the general election. It has not been updated to reflect subsequent developments. In the Senate, members vote individually for the next vice president.

If Republicans continue to hold the majority following the Nov. Members of the newly elected Congress would be the ones to vote for the president and vice president. Facebook Twitter Email. Can Electoral College really tie at to ?

It's not likely but here's how it works. Show Caption. Among all the states, there are a total of electoral votes. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a majority of those votes — the magic number is While that section provides a method to the madness, the 12th Amendment actually lays out the contingency plan. The 20th Amendment also controls some elements of the process.