President Mike Pence is possible
Dec. 8 is the deadline for resolving election disputes, including recounts and court contests, at the state level. The Electoral College formally votes Dec. 14, and then Congress counts the electoral votes on Jan. 6, two weeks before Inauguration Day.The New York Post notes that if the election is somehow still in dispute, things could get complicated: Some states could deliver two sets of electoral votes and Vice President Mike Pence, who serves as president of the Senate, could opt to throw out both sets of votes from those states. If neither candidate has 270 electoral votes, then Congress would vote for president and vice president; the House of Representatives would need a majority by 26 votes to choose a president and the Senate would need at least 51 votes to determine the VP.
In that unlikely scenario, if the Senate somehow chooses a vice president but the House doesn’t pick a president, the vice president-elect serves as president until all is resolved. If neither body of Congress can successfully vote by Inauguration Day, then the presidential line of succession takes effect and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would serve as president until a new president is chosen.
That sounds awfully easy to game.