ROCHESTER, N.Y. — What would happen in the event of a tie in the presidential election? It’s only happened a couple of times in American history, starting in the year 1800, when Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr got the same number of electoral votes.

The decision went to the House of Representatives and Jefferson became the third president of the United States. The same practice would be in play 224 years later. Here’s the question that came up during our coverage of the presidential election: “The chances of both candidates getting 269 electoral college votes is unlikely but it could happen. If it did, what’s the protocol for choosing the next president?”

In the event that Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump tie, a “contingent election” would take place. The new Congress, sworn in on Jan. 3, would vote on the next president and vice president.

If neither candidate gets at least 270 electoral college votes, then members of the House of Representatives would decide. According to the non-partisan election information site, 270towin.com, each state, regardless of the size of its congressional delegation, would get one vote for president and 26 votes would be needed to win.

The vice president would be decided by the Senate, where 51 votes would win. Republicans currently have the majority in the House of Representatives, but it will be the new House of Representatives that would break the tie. The electors will vote on Dec. 17, 2024, and then Congress meets to count the votes on Jan. 6, 2025.

Early voting is currently underway in New York State. The benefit of voting early is that you can do it at any of the 17 early voting sites, whereas if you vote on Election Day, you’ll have to do it at your designated polling site. You can learn more here.

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