What if it's a tie? A TIE ???

[Jolie Rouge]

McCain-Obama tie possible in presidential race
By Andy Sullivan
Sun Oct 5, 10:25 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What if it's a tie?

A handful of battleground states are likely to determine the November 4 U.S. presidential election and it's possible that Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama could split them in a manner that leaves each just short of victory.

If that happens, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives would pick the president but it's unclear whether Democrats would have enough votes to send Obama to the White House.

The House last decided an election in 1824. But the legal skirmishing and partisan rancor would probably resemble a more recent election -- the 2000 vote in which Republican George W. Bush narrowly defeated Democrat Al Gore after a disputed Florida vote count and legal battle.

"This would be the seamy side of democracy, the lobbying and the money would be so intense," said American University history professor Allan Lichtman.

In the United States, presidential elections are determined on a state-by-state basis rather than a nationwide popular vote. Each state, along with the District of Columbia, is allotted a number of votes in the Electoral College that correspond to the number of representatives it has in Congress. To become president, a candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes.

If McCain wins Virginia, New Hampshire, Florida and Ohio but loses Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa to Obama, both candidates could end up with 269 electoral votes.

Other, less likely scenarios -- McCain losing Virginia and New Hampshire but winning Michigan, for example -- also could result in a tie.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the House would then decide the election when it meets in January, with each state getting one vote -- regardless of its size -- if the chamber has to break a tie.

Democrats, who control the 435-seat House, outnumber Republicans in 27 state congressional delegations and could see that number rise in the November elections.

Republicans have a majority in 21 state delegations. Two states have an equal number of Republican and Democratic representatives.

Some members could feel pressure to vote for the other party's candidate if he carried their state or district or if he won a clear margin of the national popular vote, said Northwestern University law professor Robert Bennett.

They would also be under extraordinary pressure from party leaders to stick together.

"There would be bargaining in that context and lots of room for rancor and bitterness. It would be a mess," Bennett said.

The dispute probably would not be confined to Congress.

"Do you believe for one moment that this won't end up in the courts?" Lichtman said.

Other possible scenarios, according to Bennett:

* Before the House meets, the Obama and McCain campaigns could try to convince the Electoral College voters who actually cast each state's electoral votes to switch their support. This has happened occasionally in past elections but has never affected the outcome of an election. Electors in roughly half of the states are bound by law to honor the popular vote.

* While the House picks a president, the Senate picks the vice president in the event of a tie. The Democratic-controlled chamber could pick Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden even if McCain wins the House vote.

* The newly minted vice president could become acting president if the House doesn't reach a resolution by the time President George W. Bush leaves the White House on January 20.

* House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become acting president if neither chamber could settle on a president or vice president but she would have to resign her post.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081005/pl_nm/us_usa_politics_tie;_ylt=AsrzTBh0T2cs30zU8PVuaTis0 NUE

[Jolie Rouge]

Sunday talk shows look at electoral map
Jen DiMascio
Sun Oct 5, 1:55 PM ET

A month before the election, attention this Sunday turned to the presidential electoral map, where Democrat Barack Obama has opened up a wide lead over Republican John McCain in the last two weeks.

On "Fox News Sunday," President Bush's former top political adviser, Karl Rove, said he now projects Obama would win 273 electoral votes–enough to take the White House—and has a chance at 102 more. Just two weeks ago, Rove had the two campaigns virtually tied.

Rove attributed McCain’s downward trend in key states such as Minnesota, New Hampshire and Michigan primarily to the financial crisis and, to a lesser extent, the candidate’s reaction to it. The race is also tightening, he said, in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

“What we may be seeing is people reacting to McCain suspending his campaign, which they may have seen as a political gesture, and coming back and not getting something done initially,” said Rove, who added that the polls lag behind the news and probably didn’t take into account Thursday’s vice-presidential debate.

Rove’s two bits of advice for McCain: “You have to talk about character, values and views of Obama in a way that people consider to be fair and relevant. And second of all, the McCain-Palin ticket needs to give voters a positive agenda so that people who are concerned about Obama’s qualifications have something to hang their hat on.”

Already, though, host Bob Schieffer noted on CBS’s "Face the Nation," Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has gone negative on the stump by pointing to Obama's association with William Ayers, who was a founder of the radical Weather Underground.

“Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.” Palin said yesterday.

Schieffer asked Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), whether that was an attack on Obama’s patriotism.

“Well, he has talked down about America,” Wilson said, adding that despite a history of saying “politics ends at the water’s edge,” it didn’t for Obama, who criticized American policies while speaking in Europe.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), called attempts to tie Obama to Ayers, who was in the Weather Underground when Obama was eight, “a stretch.” But looking at the issue more broadly, she said she hoped a month of character attacks would not damage the credibility that Obama has built in talking about the issues.

Meanwhile, Republicans on the shows were trying to stop the bleeding, touting McCain’s late-night phone calls to Republicans lukewarm to the $700-billion financial bailout bill just passed by Congress and signed into law by Bush.

“I don’t think he was erratic at all,” said House Minority Whip Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who led the Republicans on the bailout negotiations. “John McCain in, I thought, a very selfless and cool way began to talk to Republicans about why this had to be done during the week this week.”

“He was in contact with me every day about who he could call, who he could talk to. I think he came back and changed the discussion,” Blunt told Schieffer.

On ABC's "This Week," host George Stephanopolous turned to the upper Midwest, citing a Friday Minneapolis Star Tribune poll showing that Obama has opened up a gaping 55-37 percent edge there.

“Is Minnesota truly in play for Sen. McCain right now?” Stephanopolous asked.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) dismissed that poll and said that even though the Democrats currently have the edge in Minnesota, a maverick Republican such as McCain is just the kind who can make a difference in this last month.

Along those lines, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) said Florida is still very much in play for McCain – particularly because he hasn’t advertised heavily on television yet, and that makes a huge difference in the Sunshine State.

“McCain has an awful lot of things going for him in the state of Florida,” Martinez said, pointing to older voters, Jewish mistrust of Obama’s foreign policy and the Cuban community’s reaction to Obama’s willingness to negotiate with “the Castro brothers.”

Although Palin didn't dominate the discussion as she has since her entrée to the national stage, she did get a mention.

Asked by Schieffer whether there is a double standard for Alaska governor because she is a woman, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), replied that Palin “had a different strategy, and her strategy was to be folksy and to try to speak over the moderator and over the questions that were asked."

"But the reality is, I really believe, honestly, in Michigan we are hurtin’ so bad we don’t want to hear just you know by golly, aw shucks, dogonnit. We want to hear what are you gonna to do to help everyday citizens.” Granholm said. “At this point, people are tired of style.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081005/pl_politico/14298;_ylt=Ap7qz.1ixDZoaY07MFK5XrAb.3QA

[DrHolliday]

If it's 269-269, Obama becomes President. No way will the House allow McCain to win. No way.

[Jolie Rouge]

Nightmare election scenarios worry both parties
Oct 18, 2012 2:32 PM

http://www.wbrz.com/images/thumbnails/E09D8C4487ED7309A4955A5ED447A216_250_250.jpg

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Democrats and Republicans alike are fretting over what might go seriously wrong before, during - or just after - the Nov. 6 presidential election.

Both parties have amassed lawyers and volunteers to watch polling places and appeal to local election officials if problems arise.

Campaign officials say it's possible that one candidate could win the popular vote but lose the all-important Electoral College tally. That's what happened in 2000 when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore after a contentious recount in Florida.

Perhaps the most nightmarish result next month would be a 269-269 Electoral College tie between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. That result is unlikely but far from impossible.

The U.S. House would choose the next president in such a case.

http://www.wbrz.com/news/nightmare-election-scenarios-worry-both-parties/

[janelle]

This is funny. Still talking about it might be a tie. I hope this time it is a blow-out for the Republicans.b