According to the U.S. Constitution, if none of the candidates for President gains a majority of the electoral votes, how would the choice of President be made?

While it's a rare occurrence, the U.S. Constitution has a specific backup plan for an election without a clear winner in the Electoral College. In this scenario, the responsibility for choosing the next president falls to the House of Representatives. This process, known as a "contingent election," is outlined in the 12th Amendment. Crucially, the voting is not one-person, one-vote. Instead, each state delegation casts a single, unified vote, meaning states with small populations have the same say as the most populous ones.

The House's choice is limited to the top three finishers in the electoral vote tally. A candidate must win the support of a majority of states (at least 26) to become president. At the same time, a similar process unfolds for the vice presidency in the Senate. The Senate chooses between the top two vice-presidential candidates, with each senator casting their own individual vote. This could theoretically lead to a president and vice president from different political parties.

This constitutional fail-safe has been used twice to select the president. The first was in 1800, an election so chaotic it led to the 12th Amendment's creation. The most famous instance was in 1824, when the House chose John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson, who had won the most popular and electoral votes but failed to secure a majority. This outcome is often remembered in history as the "corrupt bargain."