Electoral College Tie Analysis

[Nym90]

Regarding the "not exceeding three" provision....what if there was a 4 way tie for first place in the Electoral College one day? What in the heck would they do then? Or for that matter, even a three way tie for second place.

I guess the House could do whatever they want, and would probably eliminate whomever finished 4th in the popular vote. Obviously a 4 way tie is almost mind-blowingly unlikely (in fact, it might actually be impossible at least assuming each state is winner take all with no faithless electors...I haven't done the math, but even if it were, hard to fathom 4 candidates being strong enough to make it even remotely possible to begin with, then consider the odds of the states all falling in exactly the right way to get to the 4 way tie scenario....).

Still, interesting to ponder. It is, admittedly, a poorly written portion of the Constitution.

[Nym90]

I highly doubt Obama would lose in the event of a tie. Regarding potential political backlash for voting the party line, I don't think this would be a big problem for very many members of the House. They would have all just won reelection, and thus would have two years to overcome any negative effects. It is unlikely it would remain a big issue for many voters for two whole years.

As an example, I don't think anyone argues that Republican Senators who represented states that voted for Clinton ultimately put themselves in much of any political trouble by voting to convict Clinton in his impeachment trial, even those who were up for reelection in 2000. I remember it was suggested at the time that it might be problematic for some such as Santorum, but certainly no evidence suggests it really was.