who chooses the vice-president if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.[1]
Vice President of the United States The Constitution limits the formal powers and role of vice president to becoming president,[14][15] should the president become unable to serve, prompting the well-known expression "only a heartbeat away from the presidency," and to acting as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate. Other statutorily granted roles include membership of both the National Security Council and the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.[16][17]
Vietnam War North Vietnamese victory
Electoral College (United States) All states except California (before 1913), Maine, and Nebraska have chosen electors on a "winner-take-all" basis since the 1880s.[10] Under the winner-take-all system, the state's electors are awarded to the candidate with the most votes in that state, thus maximizing the state's influence in the national election. Maine and Nebraska use the "congressional district method," selecting one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and awarding two electors by a statewide popular vote.[11] Although no elector is required by federal law to honor his pledge, there have been very few occasions when an elector voted contrary to a pledge, and not once has it impacted the final outcome of a national election.[12][13]