If, after the Presidential election, no candidate would have a majority of the electoral votes, how would the President be determined?

While the Electoral College is designed to produce a clear winner, the U.S. Constitution provides a contingency plan for a deadlock. If no candidate secures the required 270 electoral votes, the responsibility of choosing the next president falls to the newly elected House of Representatives. This process, outlined in the 12th Amendment, is not a simple majority vote of all 435 members. Instead, it features an unusual twist: each state delegation gets a single, collective vote. This means California, with its 52 representatives, has the same voting power as Wyoming, which has only one.

This "contingency election" has occurred twice in American history for the presidency. The first was the infamous election of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, which led to the creation of the 12th Amendment itself. The most recent instance was in 1824, when the House elected John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson, even though Jackson had won the most popular and electoral votes in the general election.

As an additional wrinkle, the Senate is tasked with selecting the Vice President if no vice-presidential candidate wins an electoral majority. The senators vote as individuals, choosing between the top two candidates. This creates the fascinating constitutional possibility of a President and Vice President being elected from opposing political parties.