With less than three weeks to the US elections and candidates wrapping up their campaigns, Harris and Trump are battling to sway undecided voters with polls indicating that Harris is maintaining a 2.4 lead.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s national presidential poll tracker, Harris is currently leading in the daily national polls with 48.5 points ahead of Trump’s 46.1 with a 2.4-percentage-point.
With the race tight, FiveThirtyEight predicts that Harris is favoured to win 54 times out of 100 while Trump wins 46 times out of 100.
Read also: Harris falling behind Trump in the U.S. presidential race, Polls indicate
The Polls also showed Trump and Harris in a narrow race in swing states, the swing states also known as battleground states, can sway the outcome of a national election.
However, when the elections come, the highest vote does not decide the winner. Instead, it determines which electors will represent each state in the Electoral College which does pick the president.
This year, the states being closely watched are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Read also: What Nigeria stands to gain and lose from a Trump or Harris presidency
What happens if Harris and Trump end in a tie?
There are a total of 538 electoral votes. To win the election, a candidate must get 270.
Given the nature of how electoral votes are distributed, specific combinations of states could lead to a tie of 269 votes. Such a scenario is possible, though not probable.
If no candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes, a contingent election takes place in which the US House of Representatives decides the winner.
Each state’s delegation in the House would cast one vote, and a candidate must receive a majority (26 out of 50) of the state delegation votes to win.
The US Senate would then choose the vice president with each senator casting one vote and a simple majority (51 votes) required to win.
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