Posted on 10/11/2004 9:06:21 AM PDT by NewMediaFan
And you thought the 2000 presidential election was wild.
How about this for 2004: George Bush is re-elected president, and your new vice president is ... John Edwards.
Yes, it could happen.
If the right states favor Republican incumbents Bush and Dick Cheney on Election Day and the rest go for Democrats John Kerry and Edwards, the result could be a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College, which chooses the president and vice president.
Under the Constitution, the new House of Representatives would then elect the president by majority vote, with each state's House delegation getting one vote.
The winner almost surely would be Bush, since the Republican Party is expected to control most delegations in the House, where it now has a 30-20 edge.
The Senate would elect the vice president by majority vote, choosing Cheney or Edwards, with each senator getting one vote.
And if Democrats gain two Senate seats Nov. 2, the body could pick Edwards, the senator and trial lawyer from Raleigh, N.C.
A dozen or more scenarios could produce a draw in the Electoral College, said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
Edwards - "What.. Another month long fact finding trip to ANWAR?! I've already told him, it's a big freakin desolate wasteland. It's cold, flat, frozen, full of oil, and useless. And I'm not even unpacked from my last trip to Antartica yet!! I hate this job! Gaaaaah!!"
Memory lapse. Forgot the Senate would choose the VP.
Edwards can't even win his home state, so it is highly doubtful he could muster a win in the Senate.
President Bush - "And I'd also like to thank my distinguished Vice President, Mr. John Edwards, who is watching tonight from an undisclosed location, assuming that his motel does in fact have cable"
Can you say undisclosed location. Permanently.
I highly doubt that there aren't at least a couple Dems in the Senate who would see the historical wisdom of ensuring that the VP was from the same party as the Pres, simply to reduce assassination incentives.
"Under the Constitution, the new House of Representatives would then elect the president by majority vote, with each state's House delegation getting one vote."
"The winner almost surely would be Bush, since the Republican Party is expected to control most delegations in the House, where it now has a 30-20 edge."
Well the Seattle Post-Intelligencer gets their information wrong again. If an electoral college tie of 269-269 votes did occur, then it would move to the Congress for the House of Representatives to resolve. There is would take 26 of the 50 State delegations to elect a President, however the current 108th House of Representatives is broken down by delegation as follows: 30 State delegations are Republican controlled, 15 State delegations are Democrat controlled, 1 State delegation is Socialist controlled and 4 State delegations are tied. The House of the 109th Congress would be the one to chose the President in the rare event of an electoral college tie, but not much of a change is expected except that Texas will go from the 'tied' catagory to that of being a Republican controlled delegation which would make the 109th House: 31(R), 15(D), 1(S), 3(tied).
Hope this helps,
dvwjr
Thanks for the info !
I'm hoping that Bush get 300+ electoral votes. Kerry/Edwards must be stopped in their tracks.
The new Congress goes into session on the 3rd of January, the President is inaugurated on January 20th.
If there is a tie in the electoral college, expect the 'Rats to bribe electors to vote for Kerry...remember how they were talking about that in 2000. One faithless elector could find himself a very wealthy man.
Yep. It is more likely to be a +2 or +1 pickup for the Republicans in the Senate. We get GA and SC for sure. They get IL. CO and OK are (finally) trending our way and NC looks to be another pickup. Things look optimistic in FL, and SD as well, though I would imagine Daschle can get enough zombies to vote his way.
Panic sets in on the Left like a Seattle rainstorm.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.