2000 election is alot closer.

[kashifsakhan]

Come election night in 2000, the confusion caused by the butterfly ballot papers is ALOT more damaging (for both parties), and somehow, Pat Buchanan manages to win Florida by the slenderist of slender margins.

The final electoral map looks like this:

Gore/ Lieberman: 267
Bush/ Cheney: 246
Buchanan/ Foster: 25

What would happen next? Since neither party has gotten enough EC votes to proclaim a victory, who would become the 43rd president of the United States?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Bush wins in the House. With a party-line Senate vote, VP Gore breaks the tie for Senator Lieberman to become VP.

[kashifsakhan]

Bush wins in the House. With a party-line Senate vote, VP Gore breaks the tie for Senator Lieberman to become VP.

So your saying that there would be a coalition government?

[Lincoln Republican]

My answer to your question

No, when it comes to the Presidency, there is not, nor can there be, such a thing as a coalition government.

The responsibilities and the powers of the President and of the Vice President are clearly defined in the constitutution.

The Vice President is the President of the U.S. Senate.  Beyond that, the only authority or responsibilities the Vice President has are those assigned to him by the President.  The Vice President casts tie breaking votes in the Senate.

So the only other responsibilities or authority Lieberman would have in the Presidency of George W Bush would be those assigned to him by the President.

[adam]

There is no way in hell that either party would let Pat Buchanun keep those electoral votes. Both parties (when the election is on the line) would refuse to except the idea that people could be that stupid and blame the whole thing on "confusing ballots". With Republicans controling the Florida government, recounts would probably go in their favor and the election would be delivered to them.

[Lincoln Republican]

You do make a good point.

The Republicans and the Democrats have a lot more money and can hire a lot more lawyers, to drag this thing through every court in Florida, and into the Supreme Court if necessary.

Buchanan's only hope is if he won the state with a good margin.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It would of been thrown in the House like in 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and the Republicans would of voted for GW Bush he would of won anyway.

[adam]

Also, the Butterfly Ballot  was only used in one county I do believe. So even if everyone in that county was too stupid to look at an arrow...it wouldn't give Buchanun the state.

[Nym90]

Either Bush would win in the House, or Buchanan's electors would vote for Bush (although this would probably have required some sort of a deal between the two for Bush to enact part of Buchanan's agenda), and Bush would win that way.

[Pink Panther]

Trump will change everything.