What happens if there’s an Electoral College tie?

Voters lineup on Election Day outside the Southeast branch of the Dayton Metro Library at 21 Watervliet Ave. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

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Voters lineup on Election Day outside the Southeast branch of the Dayton Metro Library at 21 Watervliet Ave. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

The battle for 270 electoral college votes continues Wednesday as seven states are still tallying votes and remain uncalled. But what happens if President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden ties with 269 votes each?

As of Wednesday morning, Biden was leading Trump 238-213 with 87 electoral votes still up for grabs. While a tie is unlikely, and mathematically impossible at this point in the current presidential election according to The Independent, there is a process in place in the event that no candidates secure 270 votes.

In that case the vote would go to the U.S House of Representatives, according to a report by Fox News. However, each of the House’s 435 members do not get their own vote. Instead, each state’s representatives vote as group, with each state getting one vote. Trump or Biden would need 26 votes to win the presidency.

Though the House selects the president in the event of a tie, the U.S. Senate would decide the vice president. Senate members vote individually, according to USA Today, and could choose a VP from a different party than the president.

If the House cannot pick a president, but the Senate has selected a vice president, the vice president will act as president until the House comes to a decision, according to Fox News. But if neither the House or Senate can come to a consensus, the speaker of the House would serve as president until both make a selection.

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