offers number of nightmares
Divided government?
The Constitution outlines what follows in case of a tie, though that’s
happened only once, in 1800. The newly elected House of Representatives chooses the president from the top three finishers; each state
has one vote. The newly elected Senate chooses the vice president; each senator has a vote.
(In 1800, running mates Thomas Jefferson
and Aaron Burr each received 73 electoral votes. Four years later, the 12th Amendment was ratified to clarify that parties could nominate
tickets rather than having candidates for president and vice president in effect compete with one another.)
This time, the process
presumably would favor Bush. Republicans control 30 of the 50 state delegations in the House; the GOP almost certainly will keep control
in the November elections. Republicans now have 51 Senate seats. But if Democrats regain an edge in the Senate — which is conceivable
— the choice for vice president could get interesting.
A George W. Bush-John Edwards administration? …
For a tie: Every state
votes the way it did four years ago, except for two. New Hampshire and West Virginia, which voted for Bush last time, go Democratic this
time. Kerry is competitive in both states.