What happens if there is an Electoral College tie?
If no candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the president, with each state delegation casting one vote. The Senate elects the vice president.
The Constitution and the 12th Amendment provide a contingency when no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes. In that scenario, the election is thrown to the House of Representatives, which chooses the president from among the top three electoral-vote recipients.
The House vote is unusual: each state delegation casts a single vote, regardless of how large or small the state is. California's delegation and Wyoming's delegation each get one vote. A candidate must win a majority of state delegations - 26 or more - to be elected president.
Simultaneously, the Senate chooses the vice president from the top two electoral-vote recipients, with each senator casting an individual vote. This could theoretically result in a president from one party and a vice president from another.
This contingency has occurred twice in U.S. history: in 1800 (resolved by the House choosing Thomas Jefferson) and in 1824 (House chose John Quincy Adams despite Andrew Jackson winning more popular and electoral votes). A 2028 tied Electoral College is considered unlikely but not impossible, particularly in a competitive three-way race.
Related questions
Has there ever been a true 269-269 tie?
Can a third-party candidate deny both major-party candidates 270 votes?
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Related explainers
270 out of 538. A candidate must win a majority of electoral votes - at least 270 - to be elected president. If no one reaches 270, the House of Representatives decides.
Each state gets electoral votes equal to its congressional seats. A candidate needs 270 of 538 to win. Voters choose slates of electors who then cast the official votes in December.
A faithless elector is a member of the Electoral College who votes for someone other than the candidate they were pledged to support. Most states now have laws that penalize or nullify faithless votes.
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