Editing United States Electoral College (section)

==== Contingent vice presidential election by Senate ====
If no candidate for vice president receives an absolute majority of electoral votes, then the [[United States Senate|Senate]] must go into session to choose a vice president. The Senate is limited to choosing from the two candidates who received the most electoral votes for vice president. Normally this would mean two candidates, one less than the number of candidates available in the House vote.

However, the text is written in such a way that ''all'' candidates with the most and second-most electoral votes are eligible for the Senate election—this number could theoretically be larger than two. The Senate votes in the normal manner in this case (i.e., ballots are individually cast by each senator, not by state delegations). Two-thirds of the senators must be present for voting to take place.

The Twelfth Amendment states a "majority of the whole number" of senators, currently 51 of 100, is necessary for election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/government/gov-39.cfm#_1_8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231654/http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/government/gov-39.cfm|archive-date=June 28, 2011|title=RL30804: The Electoral College: An Overview and Analysis of Reform Proposals, L. Paige Whitaker and Thomas H. Neale, January 16, 2001|publisher=Ncseonline.org|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> The language requiring an absolute majority of Senate votes precludes the sitting vice president from breaking any tie that might occur,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Longley|first1=Lawrence D.|last2=Peirce|first2=Neal R.|title=The Electoral College Primer 2000|place=New Haven, CT|journal=Yale University Press|year=1999|page=13}}</ref> although some academics and journalists have speculated to the contrary.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/vote2000/storm.htm|work=USA Today|title=Election evolves into 'perfect' electoral storm|date=December 12, 2000|access-date=June 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515165111/http://www.usatoday.com/news/vote2000/storm.htm|archive-date=May 15, 2006}}</ref>

The only time the Senate chose the vice president was in [[1836 United States presidential election#1837 contingent election|1837]]. In that instance, the Senate adopted an alphabetical [[Voting methods in deliberative assemblies|roll call]] and voting aloud. The rules further stated, "[I]f a majority of the number of senators shall vote for either the said [[Richard Mentor Johnson|Richard M. Johnson]] or [[Francis Granger]], he shall be declared by the presiding officer of the Senate constitutionally elected Vice President of the United States"; the Senate chose Johnson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsj&fileName=026/llsj026.db&recNum=228&itemLink=r%3Fammem%2Fhlaw%3A@field%28DOCID%2B@lit%28sj0262%29%29%3A%230260003&linkText=1|title=Senate Journal from 1837|publisher=Memory.loc.gov|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>