Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

1. It takes 270 electoral votes to become president. According to the 12th Amendment, a tie in the electoral college sends the presidential election to the House of Representatives. Each state’s House delegation gets one vote. The person with 26 votes wins the presidency. According to the visual above, how many states currently have a Republican majority house delegation?

2. According to the visual above, how many states currently have a Democratic majority house delegation?

3. According to the visual above, what political party is the majority in the House delegation from your state?

4. Twice in American history presidential elections have resulted in a tie. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College under the old system that gave each elector two votes for President. The 12th Amendment altered that system to allow for separate votes for President and Vice President. Since then, the only election not decided by the Electoral College was the 1824 contest, when Andrew Jackson led the college but didn’t have a majority of votes. In the contingent election, the House chose John Quincy Adams over Jackson. If the 2024 presidential election was a tie and the current state delegations voted for president, who would most likely win the 2024 election?

5. But wait, here’s the thing:  it is the members of Congress elected in November, 2024, and seated in January, 2025 that would take on this responsibility. Explain how the outcome of U.S. House races help determine the winner of the Presidential election.

6. The Senate would decide the Vice President with 51 Senate votes needed to determine the winner. Explain how it would be possible to have a Trump-Waltz or Harris-Vance White House.

7. According to Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment if a majority is not reached in the House vote (e.g., 25-25), that chamber needs to keep voting until the tie is broken. If the deadlock is still in place when the new term starts (noon, ET on Jan. 20), the vice president becomes acting president until such time as the House elects a president. Explain how an electoral college tie could make Tim Waltz temporarily the next president of the United States.

8. In the event of a tie in the electoral college the U.S. House picks the president and the U.S. Senate picks the Vice-President. How does this illustrate the following concepts: bicameralism, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism?

9. This all sounds very complicated. Make a claim about whether you think it would be better to select the president by simply awarding the presidency to the person who won the most popular votes.

10. How does the lack of purple states in the map above illustrate political polarization and gerrymandering.

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

While unlikely, a 269-269 tie is not out of the question in a competitive 2024 presidential election. Use this calculator to investigate and game out electoral college tie scenarios.

Get Creative

You know how colleges all have t-shirts, sweat shirts, hoodies and all kinds of merch? Design your own t-shirt for the Electoral College!

Learning Extension