Changes

Congress began meeting in Washington, D.C., around 1800, and the population of that area was initially very small.  But as the size of the federal government and the amount of money that it hands out has grown over the years, the size of the population in D.C. has grown too.  Eventually the 23rd Amendment was added to the Constitution to give Washington, D.C. the same number of "Electors" in the Electoral College as the smallest State:  a total of 3.

Congress began meeting in Washington, D.C., around 1800, and the population of that area was initially very small.  But as the size of the federal government and the amount of money that it hands out has grown over the years, the size of the population in D.C. has grown too.  Eventually the 23rd Amendment was added to the Constitution to give Washington, D.C. the same number of "Electors" in the Electoral College as the smallest State:  a total of 3.

So the total number of Electoral College votes is 435 plus 100 plus 3, which equals 538.  It is an even number, so a tie is possible:  269 for one candidate, and 269 for the other.  The minimum needed for a candidate to win a majority is one more:  270 votes in the Electoral College.

So the total number of Electoral College votes is 435 plus 100 plus 3, which equals 538.  It is an even number, so a tie is possible:  269 for one candidate, and 269 for the other.  The minimum needed for a candidate to win a majority is one more:  270 votes in the Electoral College.  If no candidate wins that many (as occurred in 1824), then the House of Representatives picks the next president.

 

Now that we know that a tie is possible, the next question is whether a tie is possible between Romney and Obama in the presidential election that occurs in about a week.  Again, the answer is yes.  But in order to understand that, we must first learn how States assign Electoral College votes to the candidates.

A total of 270 Electoral College votes are needed by a candidate to win the election.  If no candidate wins that many (as occurred in 1824), then the House of Representatives picks the next president.

Nearly every State uses a winner-take-all system, such that the candidate who wins the popular vote in that State then receives all of its Electoral College votes.  It does not matter if the candidate wins by 51-49% or 75-25%, the winner receives the same number of Electoral College votes for that State: all of them.<ref>Maine and Nebraska are the exceptions.  Both states award two Electoral College votes to the candidate with the most votes statewide and one Electoral College vote to the winning candidate in each Congressional district.</ref>

Nearly every State uses a winner-take-all system, such that the candidate who wins the popular vote in that State then receives all of its Electoral College votes.  It does not matter if the candidate wins by 51-49% or 75-25%, the winner receives the same number of Electoral College votes for that State: all of them.<ref>Maine and Nebraska are the exceptions.  Both states award two Electoral College votes to the candidate with the most votes statewide and one Electoral College vote to the winning candidate in each Congressional district.</ref>