What if? Constitutional puzzles, weird outcomes, and possible stalemates in presidential elections

Abstract

Presidential elections are conducted as a multi-stage process, whose election rules are determined by the Constitution and Federal statutes. While some of these rules are clearly stated in these two sets of provisions, some other rules leave plenty of room for their interpretation. The unclear (fuzzy) election rules can be viewed, in fact, as constitutional puzzles, which can be definitively resolved only by the Supreme Court, by Congress (in cases in which Congress is authorized to address corresponding unclear issues), and by means of constitutional amendments. Moreover, the unclear election rules may contribute to emerging weird (or extreme) outcomes and election stalemates, which may cause frustration and disappointment in society.