How the 2012 Election Could Theoretically End in a Tie

While the likelihood of this is occurring is less than one percent, there still is the possibility that at the end of the day there will be a 269-269 electoral tie for the presidential election. Case in point (see below):

Now the question becomes, if there is a tie, how is the presidency decided? This is where it gets interesting. In the event of a tie the House of Representatives is in charge of selecting the president. However, unlike most House votes -- where each congressmen votes on the matter -- there would only be one vote per state. A total of 50 votes, however they may fall, from the House to decide who the next President of the United States will be. Okay, still following what I'm saying? Good, because here is where it gets a bit crazy. Say the House votes to another tie 25-25 (unlikely, I know, but say it did), then what? Well I'll tell you what. Speaker of the House John Boehner would actually be named the next POTUS. That's right, the Speaker of the House, a man who is not running for the job may end up as the leader of the country instead of either nominee. So it could be a Boehner presidency? Wow. That's crazy, right? Well, yes. But that is still technically a plausible outcome. But in reality, yes, the House would likely vote Mitt Romney as the next POTUS. Okay, so we had to take the long road but at the end of the day it would be a Romney/Ryan presidency in the event of a tie. At least that's settled. Actually, not so fast. The Senate still has to vote on the next Vice President of the United States. That's right, the matter is still not settled. The Senate is currently held by the Democrats and would likely vote across partisan lines, meaning that if there is an electoral tie, the most likely outcome would be a Romney/Biden presidency. I shit you not.