Latest in Podcasts and Multimedia

Democracy & Elections

The Lawfare Podcast: The Dangers of a Contingent Election with Beau Tremitiere and Aisha Woodward

Scott R. Anderson, Beau Tremitiere, Aisha Woodward, Jen Patja
Monday, October 30, 2023, 8:00 AM
What is a contingent election and what chaos could it cause in 2024? 

Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Brookings

We are a little more than a year out from the 2024 election—an election that, in countless ways, promises to be unlike any other. One way it may be different is the very real prospect of a scenario in which neither major party candidate secures enough electoral votes to win, kicking the decision to the House of Representatives in what is called a “contingent election.” Possible third parties are actively discussing the possibility of a contingent election as part of their political strategy—and this talk has many experts and advocates nervous about what chaos the turn to a contingent election might wreak. 

To talk through what this scenario might mean, Lawfare Senior Editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with Beau Tremitiere and Aisha Woodward of Protect Democracy, which recently released a report—and published a related piece in Lawfare—on the topic. They walked through how a contingent election would work, how it might end up subverting the democratic process, and what alternatives might be out there for those less than content with the two-party status quo.


Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Beau Tremitiere develops and leads advocacy projects targeting political extremism. Prior to joining Protect Democracy, Beau served as a policy aide in the U.S. Senate and as a litigation associate at a top national law firm. He also served as a law clerk in federal appellate and district court. Beau received his A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review.
Aisha Woodward is a policy advocate at Protect Democracy, where she leads a team focused on advancing reforms to restore congressional oversight of the executive branch and stem the abuse of executive power. Previously, she served as chief of staff to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a policy aide in the U.S. Senate. She holds an A.B. from Bowdoin College and an M.A. from Yale University.
Jen Patja is the editor and producer of The Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.