US presidential election: In case of a tie, Donald Trump is likely to be the next US president

Voting for the next United States president is on, and in a few hours we will know who the next US president is going to be. To win the presidency, either of the candidates — Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump — will have to secure a majority of the electoral votes, amounting to 270. But what will happen if there is a tie?

Although such a situation is rare but the possibility of a tie between the presidential candidates cannot be overruled, especially after the rise of third-party candidates like Independent candidate Evan McMullin and Libertarian Gary Johnson. According to experts, there are at least a hundred scenarios where the Electoral College could be tied to 269-269.

Let us take a look at what the next step will be if there is a tie or none of the candidates gets a majority of the electoral votes.

In such a situation, the House of Representatives will get to decide who will be the next president of the United States. Since the Republican Party holds the majority of the seats in the Congress, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would most likely be chosen as the next president. However, if neither of the candidates receives a majority of the electoral votes then the Congress could look to the third-party candidates, if they have earned electoral votes. According to the 12th Amendment, the Congress can choose the president from only among the top three candidates.

According to Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, "[t]he Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse [sic] by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have [sic] a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse [sic] the President."

In case a situation arises where the Congress has to look at a third-party candidate then it would be Evan McMullin. McMullin is a former CIA operative from Utah. According to reports, he has a decent chance at taking electoral votes in his home state, which is a heavily Republican state, which has gone against Donald Trump's candidature.