But without the required 270 electoral votes out of 538 total, Cheney couldn't take office. In that case, the Senate would decide the matter, constitutional scholars say. With the Senate in Republican hands, it's likely Cheney would get the job anyway. Robert Drinan, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts who now teaches law at Georgetown University, said he didn't foresee a problem. That might be significant,'' he said.
Some legal experts say the separate state question has become irrelevant.
The sense of a national ticket is that it's supposed to be balanced, both geographically and ideologically,'' he said. Elected officials who jump from state to state are nothing new, he said, citing the case of James Shields.