How does the House of Representatives elect the president?

The contingency election in the House is triggered when no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes (270 or more). Under the 12th Amendment, the House then chooses the president from among the top three electoral-vote recipients.

The voting procedure is unusual. The House does not vote as 435 individuals. Instead, each state's delegation caucuses privately and casts a single unified vote. Representatives from the majority party in a state delegation typically control that vote. The District of Columbia does not participate because it has no voting House members.

A candidate must win a majority of state delegations - that is, at least 26 of the 50 state votes - to be elected president. If the House cannot reach a majority, the process continues until a winner emerges. Simultaneously, the Senate elects the vice president from the top two electoral-vote recipients.

This procedure has been used only twice: 1800 (Jefferson over Burr) and 1824 (Adams over Jackson). In both cases, the House selected a candidate who did not necessarily have the most popular support. A 2028 contingency election would be politically explosive.