Can Election Night End In A Tie? Electing A New POTUS Might Not Be As Easy As You Think

Thanks to an unprecedented 2016 presidential election, the country is waiting with baited breath to see how it'll end. Unfortunately, it might not end as easily (or as quickly) as voters hoped. As polls start to close, United States citizens are asking, "Can election night end in a tie?" Turns out, it actually can, so electing a new president of the United States might not be as easy the collective "we" hoped it would be. Put on a pot of coffee, because we might all be in for a very long, very confusing, and very frustrating night.

Of course, fueling the fear that a tied election night might be in our country's future, is the seemingly head-to-head race currently happening in the Florida. Recent reports show somewhat of a back-and-forth, flip-flop situation between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Currently, Trump leads Florida with 48.7 percent of the vote, with Clinton trailing with a reported 48.1 percent of the vote. However, the two have been switching between "first" and "second" place in the state, so calling the state for either one of the candidates is, at this moment (and for some time to come) impossible.

Of course, United States presidential elections and the state of Florida have somewhat (read: a definite) murky past. Lest we forget the tumultuous and highly controversial 2000 election between would-be President George Bush, and Al Gore. Hanging chads, re-counts and popular vs. electoral votes dominated headlines for some time, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of voters across the country, and definitely voters who call Florida home.

If neither candidate reaches 270 electoral votes and the presidential election ends in a tie, the tie-breaker goes to the House of Representatives, per the United States Constitution. On Jan. 6, 2017, the newly-appointed House of Representatives would gather in Washington, D.C., and elect a president amongst themselves. Of course, whichever political party holds a majority in the House, will essentially decide who becomes the next leader of the United States of America.

Which, of course, is why voting in local and state elections is just as important as voting in presidential, national elections.

Of course, the general public (who either voted or didn't vote) have some feelings about the possibility of the election ending in a tie. Of course, Twitter is the best way to express said feelings, which meant we could all commiserate together.

Here's hoping a tie-breaker won't be necessary, and we can all wake up the day after election night and know who will be leading arguably the most powerful country in the world.