IHS Fellow
In Case You Missed It
As we get closer to the election, a number of articles have been published offering legal explainers for how the process under the new Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 would work. These have been broadly correct in most details, but one common claim reflects a confusion worth clarifying. Specifically, the conditions under which a “contingent election” could be triggered, sending the race to the House under the procedures of the Twelfth Amendment.
A contingent election has been a particularly acute fear among Democrats, because in the House it is not each representative who would have one vote, but each state’s delegation. An absolute majority of states, twenty-six, is required to win. It is likely Republicans will control more state delegations than Democrats, even if Democrats have an overall majority of the House. However, it is also possible that no party would control the needed twenty-six votes due to split state delegations.
IHS Fellow Andy Craig breaks down the misconceptions about how and when this contingent election could happen, and what the new Electoral Count Reform Act does to limit scenarios in which this could take place.
Read more on how this legal landscape impacts the upcoming election on the Cato Institute’s blog.
