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How Is the Speaker of the House Elected?
The Speaker of the House is elected by the full House on the first day of every new Congress — a floor vote that requires a majority of votes cast for a named candidate, not just the most votes. Usually it happens on one ballot. Occasionally it doesn't: in January 2023 it took 15 ballots over four days, the first time since 1923 the House needed more than one try.
Quick Answer
- Who Elects the Speaker
- The full House of Representatives, by roll-call vote, on the first day of a new Congress
- Votes Needed
- A majority of votes cast for a named person (not a fixed number, not a plurality)
- Must Be a House Member?
- No constitutional requirement — but every Speaker in history has been one
- Longest Election
- 133 ballots over two months (1855–56, Nathaniel Banks)
- Most Recent Multi-Ballot Fight
- January 2023 — 15 ballots over four days (Kevin McCarthy)
- Current Speaker
- Mike Johnson (R-LA-4)
How the Speaker Is Elected
Article I of the Constitution says only that "the House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker" — it doesn't specify a procedure. In practice, the House elects its Speaker by roll-call vote on the first day of every new Congress, before it does anything else. Every member present calls out the name of the candidate they support (or answers "present," which is not counted as a vote for anyone).
To win, a candidate needs a majority of the votes cast for a person by name — not a majority of the full 435-member House, and not simply the most votes. Because "present" votes and absences aren't counted, the threshold to win can shift from ballot to ballot. In the 2023 election, the winning threshold actually dropped from 218 to 216 on the final ballot after several holdouts switched to voting present.
In modern practice the winner is effectively decided in advance: the majority party picks its nominee in a closed-door conference vote weeks before the new Congress convenes, and that nominee almost always wins the floor vote on the first try because the majority party can outvote the minority. Multi-ballot elections happen when a faction within the majority party withholds enough votes to deny its own nominee a majority.
Why the House Can't Function Without One
Electing a Speaker is the House's first order of business because almost nothing else can happen until it's done. Members-elect aren't sworn in until the Speaker administers the oath — and by House practice, the Speaker has to be chosen first, since there's no presiding officer to swear anyone in otherwise. Until a Speaker is elected, the House cannot adopt its rules for the new Congress, cannot organize or staff its committees, and cannot bring any legislation to the floor. A prolonged Speaker fight doesn't just delay a ceremonial vote — it leaves the chamber unable to do any of its actual work.
Does the Speaker Have to Be a Member of the House?
Not according to the Constitution's text. Article I, Section 2 says the House "shall chuse their Speaker" without requiring that the Speaker be a sitting member — unlike some other constitutional offices, it doesn't list any qualifications at all. Because of that silence, many constitutional scholars believe a non-member could legally be elected Speaker, though the question has never been tested and other scholars argue that historical practice and the House's own rules imply membership is required.
What's not in dispute: it has never happened. Every Speaker since the First Congress in 1789 has been an elected member of the House. The idea resurfaces as a talking point whenever a Speaker election drags on — as it did in both October 2023 and January 2023 — but no non-member has ever received a serious bloc of votes.
What Happens on Repeated Ballots
If no candidate reaches a majority of votes cast, the House simply votes again — there's no limit on how many times. Members can change who they vote for from ballot to ballot, and nothing else on the House's agenda can move forward in the meantime. The chamber is, in effect, suspended: no members-elect are sworn in, no committees exist, and no other business can be conducted until someone wins a majority.
Historically, drawn-out elections have ended one of two ways: negotiated concessions that bring holdouts on board (as in 1923 and January 2023), or a rule change that lowers the bar — most famously in 1855–56, when the House, after 133 fruitless ballots, adopted a resolution allowing election by plurality rather than majority, which finally broke the deadlock.
Historical Multi-Ballot Speaker Elections
Most Speaker elections resolve on the first ballot. Multi-ballot fights are rare enough that each one is a genuine historical event:
1855–56 — Nathaniel Banks (133 ballots)
Two months, ending February 2, 1856
The longest Speaker election in U.S. history. A House split three ways over the Kansas-Nebraska Act and slavery took 133 ballots before adopting a plurality rule to finally elect Banks, 155–40.
1923 — Frederick Gillett (9 ballots)
December 3–5, 1923
Progressive Republicans from Minnesota and Wisconsin withheld support from incumbent Speaker Gillett for eight ballots, winning a Rules Committee seat and a rules-change pledge before he was reelected on the ninth. It was the first multi-ballot election since 1859–60 — and the last for a full century.
January 2023 — Kevin McCarthy (15 ballots)
Four days, January 3–7, 2023
A bloc of roughly 20 House Republicans withheld support from McCarthy, the majority party’s nominee, over rules and leverage concessions. McCarthy won 216–212 after midnight on the 15th ballot — the first multi-ballot Speaker election in 100 years.
October 2023 — Mike Johnson (mid-term vacancy)
Three weeks, October 3–25, 2023
Not a new-Congress election, but the same underlying rule: after a motion to vacate removed Speaker McCarthy on October 3, 2023 (216–210), the House had no Speaker at all until Mike Johnson — the fourth Republican nominee, after Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan failed to consolidate support — won a party-line floor vote, 220–209, on October 25.
Who Is the Current Speaker of the House?
The current Speaker of the House is Mike Johnson (R-LA-4), serving in the 119th Congress. See the full House leadership roster for the Majority and Minority Leaders and Whips.
The January 3, 2027 Vote
The 120th Congress is set to convene on January 3, 2027, and electing a Speaker will be its first order of business, before any member is sworn in. Forecasts as of this writing rate the House as likely Democratic in the 2026 midterms, with a narrow margin either way. A narrow majority is exactly the condition that made the January 2023 fight possible — a small breakaway faction can deny its own party's nominee a majority when the margin for error is thin. That doesn't make a repeat likely, but it makes it a live possibility worth tracking, whichever party ends up in the majority.
If the vote goes past a single ballot, this page is where updates will appear — see the note at the top of the page once balloting is actually underway.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the Speaker of the House elected?
The full House elects the Speaker by roll-call vote on the first day of each new Congress. Winning requires a majority of the votes cast for a person by name, not a plurality and not a majority of the full 435-member chamber. In modern practice, the majority party’s nominee (chosen in a closed party conference beforehand) usually wins on the first ballot.
What happens if no candidate gets a majority?
The House votes again, with no limit on the number of ballots. Nothing else can happen in the meantime — no members are sworn in, no committees are organized, and no legislation moves — until someone wins a majority of votes cast. This happened most recently in January 2023, when it took 15 ballots over four days to elect Kevin McCarthy.
Does the Speaker of the House have to be a member of Congress?
The Constitution does not explicitly require it — Article I says only that the House "shall chuse their Speaker," without listing qualifications. Many scholars believe a non-member could legally be elected, but it has never happened: every Speaker since 1789 has been a sitting House member.
How many ballots did it take to elect a Speaker in January 2023?
Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker on the 15th ballot, after four days of voting from January 3 to January 7, 2023. It was the first time since 1923 that a Speaker election required more than one ballot, and the longest since 1859–1860 outside the historic 133-ballot election of 1855–56.
What is the longest Speaker election in history?
The 1855–56 election, which took 133 ballots over roughly two months before the House adopted a plurality rule and elected Nathaniel Banks, 155–40, on February 2, 1856. It remains the longest Speaker election in U.S. history.
When will the Speaker be elected for the 120th Congress?
The 120th Congress is scheduled to convene on January 3, 2027, and electing a Speaker is its first item of business, ahead of swearing in any member. Track the live countdown to that date on our new-Congress countdown page.
Can the House do anything else while it doesn't have a Speaker?
No. Until a Speaker is elected, the House cannot swear in its members, adopt rules for the new Congress, organize or staff committees, or bring any legislation to the floor. A drawn-out Speaker election effectively puts the entire chamber on hold.