Talyn
SAINT
This thread is intended to be informative, and not a debate, or poll/tally.
If an election is close, could SCOTUS make the final decision?
Excerpts from the above article.
"The short answer is yes, but only in very specific situations.
There are 538 electoral votes spread across the country. In order to win the presidency, one must receive a majority of these electors, which comes out to 270 votes. "The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed," the Constitution reads.
So, what happens if nobody gets a majority?
Hypothetically, two candidates could also tie at 269 votes each, something which has never happened. In fact, the last time that a candidate failed to get a majority of the votes was in 1824, when there were four candidates running, causing a splintering of the votes."
However, if the status of a state comes up like in the 2000 Presidential Election = Bush vs. Gore back in the day...
"So, how might the Supreme Court get involved? To answer this question, the Verify team spoke with Georgetown University Law Professor Susan Bloch. She said the first and only time SCOTUS got involved in a presidential election was in 2000.
On election night, the vote was too close to call in Florida. That one state would tip the balance and give somebody 270 electoral votes. The dispute dragged on for more than a month.
Democrat Al Gore wanted to continue the recount, whereas Republican George W. Bush wanted to stop the count. As the dispute continued into December, they were pushing up against a federal deadline. The Constitution mandates that a new president is inaugurated by January 20, no matter what.
Surprising some legal experts, The Supreme Court decided to rule on the legal challenges, announcing that the recount should come to an end. This decision paved the way for Bush's victory."
But then there was a 9-person Supreme Court. Now there is a 8-person SCOTUS that could result in a 4-4 tie. So what happens then?
"In that exceptionally rare situation, the decision would go to the House of Representatives. Each state gets just one vote for the candidate of their choice. That means the 53-person California delegation would get one vote, and the one-person Delaware delegation would each get one vote."
So that means the candidate that wins the majority of states will win the election.
The Civics Lesson for the day....
My .02
If an election is close, could SCOTUS make the final decision?
Excerpts from the above article.
"The short answer is yes, but only in very specific situations.
There are 538 electoral votes spread across the country. In order to win the presidency, one must receive a majority of these electors, which comes out to 270 votes. "The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed," the Constitution reads.
So, what happens if nobody gets a majority?
Hypothetically, two candidates could also tie at 269 votes each, something which has never happened. In fact, the last time that a candidate failed to get a majority of the votes was in 1824, when there were four candidates running, causing a splintering of the votes."
However, if the status of a state comes up like in the 2000 Presidential Election = Bush vs. Gore back in the day...
"So, how might the Supreme Court get involved? To answer this question, the Verify team spoke with Georgetown University Law Professor Susan Bloch. She said the first and only time SCOTUS got involved in a presidential election was in 2000.
On election night, the vote was too close to call in Florida. That one state would tip the balance and give somebody 270 electoral votes. The dispute dragged on for more than a month.
Democrat Al Gore wanted to continue the recount, whereas Republican George W. Bush wanted to stop the count. As the dispute continued into December, they were pushing up against a federal deadline. The Constitution mandates that a new president is inaugurated by January 20, no matter what.
Surprising some legal experts, The Supreme Court decided to rule on the legal challenges, announcing that the recount should come to an end. This decision paved the way for Bush's victory."
But then there was a 9-person Supreme Court. Now there is a 8-person SCOTUS that could result in a 4-4 tie. So what happens then?
"In that exceptionally rare situation, the decision would go to the House of Representatives. Each state gets just one vote for the candidate of their choice. That means the 53-person California delegation would get one vote, and the one-person Delaware delegation would each get one vote."
So that means the candidate that wins the majority of states will win the election.
The Civics Lesson for the day....
My .02
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