WHAT IF ???

When neither candidate wins 270 electoral votes and both candidates end up in a tie:

• The election will be brought to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
• Newly elected House picks president from top three Electoral College vote-getters.
• Newly elected Senate chooses vice president from top two Electoral College vote-getters.

This is the way the Consitution of the United States was written.

If this election ends in an electoral tie (at 269 apiece) and this matter is taken to Congress, several possibilities
can happen:

• the House picks John Kerry as President and the Senate picks Dick Cheney as Vice-President
• George W. Bush as President and John Edwards as Vice President
• Ralph Nader as President and either Cheney or Edwards as Vice President (oh, yes, Ralph Nader has a chance if he gets any electoral votes)

All this will depend on which party holds a majority in the House and in the Senate.

This scenario may happen only if the Electoral College ends in a tie, and IF there are no legal challenges ending up in the Supreme Court. In the case of legal challenges brought to the Supreme Court, the mostly conservative court may end up giving the Presidency to George W. Bush again, as it did in the 2000 election.