What Happens If Neither Presidential Candidate Gets 270 Electoral Votes? [Video]

With the 2024 presidential election just days away, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are hot on their campaign trails in the battle to win the Electoral College vote.

Though it’s not something to lose sleep over yet, there’s a remote possibility in a race this tight that neither candidate gets the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the presidency. It’s not how the Electoral College was intended to work, but it is a scenario that’s accounted for in the Twelfth Amendment.

In case you need a refresher, the president of the United States is not elected by the national “popular vote,” which is the total number of votes a candidate received. Presidents are instead installed by the Electoral College, a group of electors from each state — equal to the state’s number of representatives and senators in Congress — who formally vote for one candidate.

In total, 538 electors — which equals the 435 representatives, 100 senators and three electors given …