- #1
Loren Booda
- 3,125
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Considering all 50 states and their current distribution of electoral votes, how many possible ties (totaling 269 to 269) can theoretically be generated?
In any case, when we do that expansion, the coefficient of x269 in g(x) is 17057441245652, which is the number of ways we can choose some states out of the 50 to have
269 electoral votes. Dividing by 250 (the number of ways in total to pick states) gives 0.01515, or about 1 in 66.
Loren Booda said:CR,
Are you sure that DC gets an electoral vote? They have no representation in the House of Representatives (or the Senate), which has been a sore spot for them as of late.
Amendment XXIII.
Section 1.
The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Loren Booda said:It would appear that NBC got it wrong (see robert's link).
robert Ihnot said:The nine toss-up "states" would not include DC
Gokul43201 said:Most certainly not. DC, currently polling at about 76% for Kerrry, is the most liberal 'state'.
Gokul43201 said:Most certainly not. DC, currently polling at about 76% for Kerrry, is the most liberal 'state'.
The electoral college tie refers to a scenario in which both candidates in a presidential election receive an equal number of electoral votes, resulting in a tie.
There are 538 total electoral votes in the United States, meaning there are 269 possible electoral college ties.
If there is an electoral college tie, the House of Representatives must vote to choose the president, while the Senate must vote to choose the vice president. This process is outlined in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Yes, there have been two instances of an electoral college tie in U.S. history. The first one occurred in the 1800 election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and the second one occurred in the 1824 election between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.
Yes, it is possible for an electoral college tie to occur in any presidential election. However, it is considered a rare and unlikely scenario.