History of speaker elections in the U.S. House: How does it work? How do candidates win?

WASHINGTON — As soon-to-be members of the House of Representatives of the 118th Congress continue to cast their votes for a new speaker, Kevin McCarthy made history as the first leader of the majority party in 100 years to fall short in his speakership bid on the first ballot.

One thing was certain: the House cannot proceed with any business until the process is done and a new speaker takes charge.

The House completed three rounds of voting without a winner on Tuesday before voting to adjourn until noon ET Wednesday.

With three rounds of voting completed without a winner, what will it take for the chamber to finally elect a new leader?

Here are questions and answers about the speaker’s role, the election process, and some history:

What does the speaker of the House do?

The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House. The Constitution requires the position’s existence, but the role has developed over time.

Regardless of if the speaker chooses to push an aggressive policy agenda or merely act as an administrator of House rules, they are simultaneously the House’s presiding officer, majority party leader and its administrative lead — not to mention third in line for the presidency if it’s vacated, after the vice president.

How many votes are needed to become speaker?

To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of all the votes cast for individuals. In the current House, the majority number of votes that candidates must win is 218, but if vacancies, absentees or members simply answering “present” were to occur, that number could shrink.

In 2021, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was elected with 216 votes, and former Speaker John Boehner won reelection to the post with 216 votes in 2015 after overcoming a conservative rebellion like the one McCarthy is dealing with now, CNN reported. After three rounds of voting Tuesday, McCarthy had no more than 203 votes.

What happens if no one gets enough votes?

As Politico reported, it’s been so long that the exact procedure is a bit unclear if no one has a majority. A Congressional Research Service brief on electing the speaker simply says that if no one gets a majority, the vote is repeated, CNN reported.

As of Tuesday afternoon, that certainly seemed to be the plan.

Has a leader of a majority party failed to get the votes they needed to become speaker during the first round of voting before?

Yes, the last time was 100 years ago. In 1923, it took nine ballots for incumbent Speaker Frederick Gillett, a Massachusetts Republican, to win a third term as speaker.

Rep. Henry Cooper, R-Wis., a progressive from Robert La Follette’s wing of the Republican Party, got 17 votes in each of the first eight rounds. Cooper finally dropped out and progressives threw their votes to Gillett after forcing changes to House rules to erode some of the leaders’ power.

Before the Gillett-Cooper clash, there had been 13 other instances of speaker elections requiring multiple ballots since 1789.

What’s the longest it ever took for a speaker to secure the votes they needed?

In the speaker election for the 34th Congress in 1855, the House went through 133 rounds of voting before Massachusetts Rep. Nathaniel Banks secured the position. The Office of the House Historian notes that before the Civil War, party divisions were much more nebulous than they are now.

Washington Bureau Chief Todd J. Gillman contributed to this report.

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