I was trying to photograph Emma Watson . . . I got this. Providence native, and friend of The Dose, Ari Savitzsky was participating in the alumni procession at the 2014 Brown Commencement when he flashed this charming smile. Since graduating from Brown, Ari has breezed through NYU Law School and the bar exam, and now lives in D.C. with his scary-smart wife, Ariel Werner, herself an NYU grad and successful litigator. (I met this protopower couple while working on David Segal’s various campaigns.) Ari recently rounded out his résumé by gaining admission to the Supreme Court Bar, and he has been thinking about the Constitution.
As if this election wasn’t distressing enough, Ari has written an absolutely terrifying piece — This Election Cycle Could End With President Paul Ryan — about how things could possibly shake out should this mishegoss result in a failed three-way race.
But the process for resolving no-majority outcomes remained mostly unchanged. The basic rule, since 1804, has been that if no candidate receives a majority, the House elects the President, and the Senate elects the Vice President. In 1824, after a four-way race where Andrew Jackson romped but no candidate hit the magic number in the Electoral College, John Quincy Adams was elected by the House of Representatives. We haven’t elected a President this way since.
So there could be plenty of work for D.C. lawyers this year, as well as a run on razor blades. Ari does a great job explaining it all.
TMZ may someday regret having passed on this candid of Mr. Savitzsky. They’ll be back when Chief Justice Savitzsky is swearing in his wife, President Werner.