[ad_1]
- There are still several steps in the electoral process before President Donald Trump’s presidency ends and Biden takes office.
- This includes the House and Senate holding a joint session to count the votes cast by voters across the country at the beginning of the new year.
- These are the key dates that led to Biden becoming the 46th president of the United States.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday, November 7, surpassed the electoral college threshold of 270 votes needed to claim victory in the 2020 presidential election, making him president-elect of the United States and vice president-elect to Senator Kamala Harris.
But there are still several steps in the electoral process before President Donald Trump’s presidency ends on January 29 and Biden takes office.
These are the key dates that led to Biden becoming the 46th president of the United States.
December 8
News organizations often project who won the election shortly after the polls close on Election Day.
This year, those projections took several days, largely due to an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots cast amid the country’s coronavirus epidemic. At this point, news organizations, using a variety of factors, determine that a candidate no longer has a path to victory.
However, the official count continues for several days, and sometimes weeks, after a winner is projected.
Under federal law, states must conduct an official vote recount “as soon as possible.” These counts are subject to legal challenges and counts, the criteria and terms of which are regulated by the laws of each state. Some states, like Pennsylvania, automatically trigger a count if the race is closed. In Pennsylvania, that’s anything below a 0.5 percent margin between candidates. In others, like Wisconsin, where the Trump campaign has said it will seek a recount, it must be prompted by a request from a candidate.
Regardless of a state’s laws regarding recounting, state officials must meet the deadline, this year, December 8, to name the voters who will decide the winner based on a certified final count. If they meet the so-called “safe harbor” deadline, Congress must accept those voters.
States are strongly incentivized to meet this standard.
While rare and based on individual state law, cases can arise where stories and legal disputes persist beyond the “safe harbor” deadline, which can lead to a number of complex scenarios that they include state officials and legislatures who name rival voters lists. In such an incident, Congress makes the final decision on which voters will be accepted.
December 14th
There are 538 electoral votes, and the number of votes in each state matches the number of US senators and representatives that state has in Congress. Washington, DC also has three electoral votes. In most states, all electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state, although this is not necessarily required by law.
Two states, Maine and Nebraska, have slightly different systems: Two electors vote for the candidate who wins the general popular vote for the state, while a third elector votes for the candidate who wins the most electoral districts in that state.
Currently, 33 states and Washington, DC have laws that require voters to vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state.
While it is the norm, in states without laws that require it, for voters to vote for the winner of the popular vote in the state, so-called “infidel voters” have in the past voted for a different candidate or have refused to vote. Such an occurrence is relatively rare and has never decided a presidential race.
On December 14, voters across the country cast their ballots in their respective states and the District of Columbia, which has three electoral votes. These results must be delivered to the US capital and other relevant officials by December 23.
January 6th
The House and Senate hold a joint session to count the votes cast by voters across the country.
If a ballot has received 270 or more electoral votes, the President of the Senate, currently Vice President Mike Pence, will announce the winner of the election.
Members of Congress can also object to any state’s election declarations as announced. Objections must be made in writing by at least one member of the House and one in the Senate.
If the objection meets certain requirements, each chamber meets separately to discuss the objection. After that, each chamber votes to accept or reject the objection. Any objection to a state’s electoral vote must be approved by both houses for the contested votes to be excluded.
If none of the presidential candidates obtains at least 270 electoral votes, the House decides the election, based on the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. If necessary, the House would elect the president by majority vote.
January 20
President-elect Joe Biden will take office at noon on Inauguration Day. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in shortly before that.
Do you want to know more about this topic? Sign up to receive one of 33 News24 newsletters to receive the information you want in your inbox. There are special newsletters available to subscribers.
