Mining News: What if we had a party, and no one came?

J. P. Tangen

Special to Mining News

Of course it probably won’t happen this way, but Alaska Congressman Don Young may choose the next president of the United States “The person having the greatest number of votes for president, shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person ha(s) such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as president, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.” —Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Given the fluidity of the presidential contest, it may not be premature to dust off our hip pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution and worry about what happens if neither of the contenders gets the requisite 270 electoral votes to become the forty-fifth president. The road to 270 votes, at the moment,....