Associate Dean Amar Comments on Electoral College for Roll Call, Boston Herald
Vikram Amar, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, commented for Roll Call and The Boston Herald on the possibility that Congress might be called upon to choose the next president in the event of a tie in the November 6 election.
If the Electoral College were to produce a deadlock, Congress would have the responsibility of choosing the next president and vice president. Most experts project that the Republican-dominated House of Representatives would choose Republic candidate Mitt Romney, while the Senate might be more compelled to elect the winner of the national popular vote. One possible outcome would be that Congress would appoint the winner of the popular vote as president and select the losing candidate's running partner as vice president.
"In general, party unity within the White House makes sense. But there is no requirement, and we've had presidents of one party serve with [vice presidents] of the other," said Amar, who played a key role in the formation of the National Voter Interstate Compact, a plan that would effectively award the presidency to the winner of the national popular vote.
Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for Justia.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.