Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 | 2 a.m.
The 2024 presidential election presents a possibility that third-party candidates may play a significant role in determining the outcome.
According to the 12th Amendment, if no candidate receives 50% plus one of the Electoral College electors vote, each state in the House of Representatives has a single vote for one of the candidates. When a candidate receives 50% plus one of the House’s state votes, the chamber will have determined the next president. This was the case in the 1824 election.
Next year may recreate that situation from 200 years ago in which multiple presidential candidates divided the electoral votes so no candidate met the requirement of a majority threshold.
In the 1824 election, the House selected John Quincy Adams as president despite his failure to win the most votes overall or earn the most electoral votes (Andrew Jackson had both).
The effect of well-funded and popular third-party candidates can play havoc with the Electoral College vote system, especially in key thin-margin states. This historic election will determine whether the future of the United States will still be a democracy or become an autocracy, and who makes that determination. Only time and the voters will tell.
