1、Congressional Research Service ? The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS20300Updated January 17, 2001Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Contingent ElectionThomas H. NealeAnalyst in American National GovernmentGovernment and Finan
2、ce DivisionSummaryThe 12th Amendment to the Constitution requires that candidates for President andVice President receive a majority of electoral votes (currently 270 or more of a total of538) to be elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the President is elected by theHouse of Representatives
3、, and the Vice President is elected by the Senate. This processis referred to as contingent election. It has occurred only twice since the adoption of the12th Amendment in 1804: for President in 1825, and for Vice President in 1837. In theHouse, the President is elected from among the three candidat
4、es who received the mostelectoral votes. Each state casts a single vote for President, and a majority of 26 or morestate votes is required to elect. In 1825, the House decided that a majority of votes ofRepresentatives in each state was required to cast the states vote for a particularcandidate, or
