The process for electing a new speaker of the House
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House Speaker John Boehner announced Friday that he will resign his post and his House seat in October in a move that stunned Capitol Hill lawmakers.
But now that the Ohio Republican has announced he is on his way out, what happens next?
It is the full House that elects a new speaker. Once Boehner resigns, the total number of members in the House will be 434. An absolute majority of the House is required to elect a new speaker, not a simple majority -- meaning the magic number of votes that a candidate must get is 218.
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Democrats will run one candidate, and Republicans will run another. However, technically anyone can be nominated or voted on on the floor of the House.
The last time a vote for a new speaker went to a second ballot was in 1923 when it took four ballots to re-elect Frederick Gillett, D-Mass., over nine days.
Once Boehner resigns, the House will be unable to do anything until it elects a new speaker.
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Boehner’s resignation is rare, but not unprecedented. The last speaker to resign in the middle of a Congress was Speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas who resigned in 1989 amid an ethics scandal.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.