As your body grows bigger, your mind grows flowered..

[vansmack]

So I've volunteered to spend some time at a legal phone bank for the elections, and thus far the majority of the questions I've had were about a tied electoral college, 269/269.  I started working on a catchy tune a la School House Rocks for the following info, but have given up.  Folks here's your big chance to get ahead of the game!
 
 Thanks to Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, Ladies and Gentleman, your 12th Amendment (in a nut shell).
 
 If there is a tie in the Electoral College, it becomes the responsibility of the members of the House of Representatives to choose the next President of the United States. However, each state receives only one vote, and the representatives from each state have to decide which candidate gets their states vote.  Delegations that are evenly split and cannot decide on which candidate to vote for have their vote cast aside.  The winner has to have an absolute majority of 26 votes to be declared the President. If no one reaches 26 votes, further balloting is done.  If we reach Inauguration day and no one has an absolute majority, the Speaker of the House (not the Vice President) becomes the acting President until the House decides on 26 votes for one candidate, or the next election - which ever comes sooner.  There are currently 30 states with more Republican than Democrat House Members.  
 
 Since electors vote for the President and Vice President separately, a tie for President would almost certainly mean a tie for Vice President. If the candidates were both to receive 269 vice presidential electoral votes each, it would be up to the 100 members of the Senate to choose the winner. The voting procedure here is much more straightforward. As long as at least 67 Senators are present, they each cast one vote. Which ever VP candidate receives at least 51 votes is declared the winner.  Republicans currently have an effective 51-49 (counting the independents based on voting history), but should there be a 50-50 tie after the Nov. 2 election, the President of the Senate (also known as Vice President Dick Cheney) has the deciding vote.
 
 THEREFORE
 
  </font>

• <font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda">House Speaker Dennis Hastert could become President without even running.</font></li>

<font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda">
 </font>

• <font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda">Democrats could regain the Senate, and the House could elect Bush as President and the Senate could elect Edwards as Vice President</font></li>

<font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda">
 </font>

• <font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda">The Senate could be split 50-50 and Dick Cheney votes to give himself another four years in office.</font></li>

<font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda">  
 Sleep well tonight thinking about that.

[ggw]

Back in 2000, wasn't there a scenario in which Strom Thurmond would have been interim President?
 
 That would have rocked!!
 
 
 Unless bin Laden is captured in the next seven days, Kerry will take the election by the electoral college score of 284 to 254 and nobody will have to worry about tiebreakers or lawsuits.

[Jaguär]

What if in all of the excitement, the big one finally catches up with Cheney?

[ggw]

Originally posted by Jaguär:
  What if in all of the excitement, the big one finally catches up with Cheney?

Not a problem -- we have look-alikes.

[Jaguär]

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
   

Originally posted by Jaguär:
  What if in all of the excitement, the big one finally catches up with Cheney?

Not a problem -- we have look-alikes. [/b]

So stem cell research and it's use is okay for you guys but not for the rest of the riff raff?    :p

[poorlulu]

<img src="http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/fitness/freeride/images/mcenroe.jpg" alt=" - " />

[keithstg]

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
 
 Unless bin Laden is captured in the next seven days, Kerry will take the election by the electoral college score of 284 to 254 and nobody will have to worry about tiebreakers or lawsuits.

Hmm, I actually think it will be the reverse, as does electoral vote.com. We'll see. November 3 will be really interesting.

[Venerable Bede]

bush only needs florida and wisconsin for 271. . .
 
    <img src="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/images/rcp%20electoral/RCP-10-22.gif" alt=" - " />

[ratioci nation]

<img src="http://www.electoral-vote.com/oct/oct27.png" alt=" - " />

[ggw]

Electoral-Vote.com takes the latest polls, whatever they may be.  This includes polls like Rasmussen and Survey USA that are automated ("For Bush, press 1.  For John Kerry, press 2") and have little reliability.
 
 Kerry will win Ohio, due to the large number of out-of-state college kids who, at the urging of MoveOn, have temporarily registered themselves as Ohio residents and voters.  
 
 Bush will win Florida and Colorado, but will lose Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and New Mexico.

[Barcelona]

Which is the most reliable website following the electoral college votes? This is getting really interesting.

[Venerable Bede]

Originally posted by Barcelona:
  Which is the most reliable website following the electoral college votes? This is getting really interesting.

i think everyone uses the same data, they just come to different results.  for example, most polls still have bush winning colorado, but pollard's map has it leaning kerry, but the map i posted gives it to bush.  the map i posted takes the 5 (or so) most recent state polls, averages them, and comes to a conclusion about the strength of the candidate in each state.  i'm sure pollard's map does something similar.
 
 in all, we won't know what happens until tuesday. . very late on tuesday. . .

[bellenseb]

Slate.com has a daily electoral vote analysis that tracks pretty much every poll from every state that is even marginally in play. Good stuff.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
   for example, most polls still have bush winning colorado, but pollard's map has it leaning kerry, but the map i posted gives it to bush.  

Let's not forget Colorado's ballot initiative to split it's electoral college votes, which would give 5 to Bush and 4 to Kerry.  Though I don't think it will pass, you will certainly hear a lot about it on Tuesday.

[ggw]

Originally posted by Barcelona:
  Which is the most reliable website following the electoral college votes? This is getting really interesting.

www.electoral-vote.com  gives you the most poll results, but the map and the data is not massaged.  Some may think that's good; some may think that's bad.
 
 I like the NY Times interactive electoral college map.
 
 On the subject of Colorado, I think the ballot initiative is simply to give the state the "right" to split electoral votes.  Maine and Nebraska also have this "right" but I'm not sure it is really used.  Also, isn't the legality of the Colorado initiative open to question, since it would retroactively apply this law to the upcoming election?