I’ve seen the EC math done two ways:
1) Winner must win a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, i.e., the total number appointed is 538, therefore the winner must have >(538 *.5) = 270.
2) Winner must win a majority of the whole number of Electors appointee, i.e., if PA and Georgia fail to certify their 36 EC seats, then only 502 Electors are appointed - therefore the winner must have >(502 *.5) = 252.
Do you know which is correct?
The wording in the 12th amendment is:
“The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed..”
I don’t think it is clear what constitutes an Elector being “appointed”. In other words, if PA does not certify its 20 Electors, are the 20 Electors still considered “appointed”, and therefore still part of the total 538?
Thanks
Those are good questions for constitutional lawyers, and I’ve not seen any touch this subject yet. Looks like there could be arguments for both sides, so let’s hope it doesn’t go there, and Team Trump can prove the vote “flipping” happened, or that mail in ballots were illegal, etc, which would make him the outright winner.