US Speaker of House Election

[Brunski]

The Speaker of House Election is majority of votes cast not majority of members who elect (drives me nuts when I hear that to elect a speaker they mention that they need 218 votes or any votes less than the minority party will elect the minority party leader speaker)

the procedure is:

each party give a nomination speech of the person to elected to be speaker
the floor is open to have any other member to nominate any other member (like there was in 2013)

Then in alphabetic order by last name (and state if same last name) each member is called and rises and voices who they wish they want as speaker (which is recorded by the tellers including names for speaker that are not official nominated)

Until the vote is finally close a member can change their vote (like this year) that is why the voice vote was 216 -215-3 then 218-215-1 when it closed.

In a hythotheical stituation lets say there are 435 memembers voting (delegates do not have a vote)

a majority is 435/2= 218 (rounded up)

216 vote for candiate #2
215 vote for candiate #1
3 vote for candiate #3
1 vote for candiate #4

Total votes cast 435

Candiate #2 did not will because they did win a majority of the votes cast

However

435 Members are voting

216 vote for candiate #2
215 vote for candiate #1
4 vote present

Total votes cast 431 (majority is 216 rounded up)

Candiate #2 wins because they win a majority of the votes cast (a vote present is voting in abstention and doesn't count against the votes cast)

Once the Speaker of the House is elected they are official escored by an official party to the Speaker Chair, the minority leader give a speech, then the Speaker Elect


The Speaker Elect is sworn in by the Dean of the US House (longest serving member of the US House regardless of party), who then in turns swears en mass all 435 members of US House of Rep.