Vice President Dick Cheney cast a vote breaking a 50-50 tie on the dividend measure.
The minister of justice, in his capacity as keeper of the seals (garde des sceaux), may sometimes preside and cast a tie-breaking vote.
Meanwhile, inside the State Legislature, a hired gunman is aiming to assassinate the president of the Senate, who is poised to cast a tie-breaking vote.
That meant the Senate had 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats, and so the minority had to gain five seats for a clear majority, or just four if Mr. Gore won and his vice president could cast a tie-breaking vote.
A mayor technically does not have to attend a single meeting unless required to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Voting margins are so thin that Vice President Mike Pence, as head of the Senate, may have to cast a tie-breaking vote.
The court is still operating with only eight justices, and Trump's nominee to fill the vacant seat, Judge Neil Gorsuch, won't be confirmed in time to cast a tie-breaking vote.
No Democrats are expected to vote "yes" on Puzder's nomination, so Republicans need at least 50 votes, which would tie them with the Democrats, and require the intervention of Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote (which is what happened with the confirmation of Betsy DeVos last week).
Before the debate got started, Kennedy's staff asked me to check if Vice-President Al Gore was available to be in the Senate chamber that afternoon to cast a potential tie-breaking vote.
The mayor is really only responsible for casting a tie breaking vote and assigning counselors to boards.
