(NEXSTAR) – A tie in the Electoral College, while very unlikely, is still very much possible thanks to the even number of electoral votes (538) up for grabs in the upcoming presidential election.

If neither candidate obtains the 270 votes needed to win — i.e., each candidate gets 269 votes apiece — then the elected members of Congress would decide the winner of the presidency and vice presidency in what’s called a contingent election.

That process, in and of itself, would be “disruptive” and “problematic,” Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, previously told The Hill. But it could also result in a scenario that the American public hasn’t seen in over 200 years.

In a contingent election, the House of Representatives would meet to determine the president, with each state’s delegation allowed to cast one vote for the candidate of their choice. (Washington, D.C. would not participate.) The first candidate to receive 26 votes would then become president.

But the Senate would be tasked with electing the vice president, with each Senator allowed to cast a single vote. (Again, D.C. would not participate in contingent elections.) The first candidate with 51 votes is then declared the........

© The Hill