It is insanely easy to game out a 269-269 Electoral College tie this year.

I've done it twice by accident as I fiddle around with states.

So, here's a very plausible electoral map that generates a 269-69 tie.

If it's a tie, it goes to the House to decide who becomes President. This is called a contingent election.

Now, you might say, Saradin, the Dems are in charge of the House, Trump will lose!

Ah, but it's not so simple.

First off, the newly elected Congress votes, not the lame duck one. So the House which gets elected this November will vote on who becomes President.

Secondly, it's not based on raw vote totals. Instead, each State gets one vote. The State Congressman all vote, and whomever wins a majority, that's how that State "votes."

Now you might say, "Saradin, there are way more red states than blue states. That means Trump wins!"

Maybe.

Now, as I said before, the newly elected House votes on these matters. But I decided to look at the current House for some insight.

I pulled current party affiliation totals from http://Statista.com  and put them into Excel.

The GOP currently controls 26 states. The exact bare minimum they need to elect Trump.

But it could very well be the case that one or two of these states swap to Democrat control in the next election.

I'm looking at you, Florida where the GOP leads by only 1 Congressman.

Imagine the national pressure campaign that could be exerted on a Congressman to get them to swap to Biden. Their single vote could alter the balance of power.

Furthermore, the results of several tight congressional races will be tied up in lawsuits if it becomes clear they have the potential to swing the balance of power in the House.

The Presidential election could come down to a series of tight House races, not just the Presidential race.

Imagine that level of clusterfuck. Insane, right? Pretty on brand for 2020 though. It would make 2000 look very simple by comparison.

Well, let's backup a sec. It could be even worse.

Do you know what a faithless elector is?

When the electoral college convenes, sometimes an elector votes for someone OTHER THAN WHO THEIR STATE CHOSE.

This happens in a lot of elections, but our country is so hopelessly divided that we had the most ever in 2016 since 1872.

From http://270towin.com 

"There were seven faithless presidential electors. .. Three additional faithless votes, one each in Colorado, Maine and Minnesota, were disallowed."

With a 269-269 tie, all you need is one faithless elector to tip the balance of power.

I envy no electors this year in that event. These people will need 24/7 protection.

Imagine the level of shock and Prog outrage that would occur if, say, one California elector goes rogue and gives it to Trump.

They already view the electoral college as fundamentally illegitimate.

This is the sort of event that precipitates a national divorce if we're lucky, a civil war if we're not.

We won't know on election night who won the Presidency. We may end up never knowing because the country ceases to exist after November 3rd.