Romney/Biden Ticket?

I was watching the latest polls and it dawned on me how both parties could win the election.

It sounds odd, but if I’m not mistaken, there is an avenue in which this could occur.  With the polls at 48% for Obama and 48% for Romney, there is a sliver of a chance that there could be a tie. Don’t laugh; the swing states are neck-and-neck for each candidate, so it’s possible.

The swing states are: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Vermont. Let’s say Obama took Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsyvania, and Vermont, while Romney took Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Florida, and Virginia. That is an even split in the Electoral College, with 269 each.

The Electoral College has 538 votes that make up the districts within the states and a split of 269 to 269 could feasibly occur. It has happened three times before, in the 1800s. The popular vote is only a rough indicator of how the president is elected. Those votes are sent to the electors who examine the wishes of their district and make a final determination for president.

If a tie occurs in the Electoral College, then the 12th Amendment states that the new House of Representatives must make the final decision. Each state gets one vote. That means Montana would have the same vote as New York. As you can see, the majority party would have the advantage. If the Republicans are still in the majority after the election then they would most likely vote Mitt Romney as president.

But what about the Senate? The Senate gets to decide who the Vice President is. If the Democrats are still a majority, then most likely they would vote for Joe Biden. In essence, we could have a Romney/Biden administration. Even if there was a tie in the Senate, Joe Biden (president of the Senate) would have the deciding vote to break the tie. Would he vote for himself?

In this strange scenario, two men from opposite parties could be in the white house. I will let you decide whether this is a win/win or not.