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OR Electoral College confirmed on Monday (14) the victory of Joe Biden in the US presidential elections. The move is another formality between the November vote and the Democrat’s inauguration as the new president, scheduled for January 20.
In this step, all 538 voters of the 50 states and the District of Columbia designated to vote based on election results cast your votes publicly. The ballots will be sent until December 23 to the capital Washington, where they will be formally received and counted in a ceremony in January in the US Congress. (read the schedule later).
Delegate Bobbie Walton, from Michigan, signs her ballot voting for the Electoral College in Lansing, the state capital, on Monday (14). Delegates confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States – Photo: Carlos Osorio / Pool via Reuters
These Electoral College voters are appointed from the certification of electoral results in each state, a step that made the count official. All federal units archived the data until last week.
- REMEMBER: How the US Presidential Elections Work
Therefore, with 55 votes from California earlier tonight, Biden officially surpassed the 270 minimum votes in the Electoral College to be elected president. Until 7:29 pm (Brasilia time), no delegates voted differently than they had been appointed, that is, there were no “unfaithful voters”.
Delegate Clifford Levine shows the ballot while voting for the Electoral College in Joe Biden, during a meeting this Monday (14) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the day of the confirmation of the results of the US elections – Photo: Commonwealth Media Services / Handout via Reuters
With that, the Democrat is close to confirming 306 delegates in the Electoral College, compared to 232 for Republican Donald Trump, current president and defeated in the reelection attempt. Considering the popular vote, Biden had 81.3 million votes (51.3%) against 74.2 million (46.8%) of Trump.
Formally elected to the Electoral College, Biden is due to speak tonight. According to excerpts published by US news agencies, the Democrat will say that “not even the abuse of power” can interrupt a peaceful transition in power.
The next steps until Biden’s inauguration will be as follows
- December 23th: Deadline for the Senate in Washington to receive voting certificates from delegates in each state.
- January 6: the American Congress holds a joint session and counts the votes of the Electoral College. The chair of the session is the President of the Senate, who is Vice President Mike Pence. Then it will be up to him to declare who is officially elected.
- January 20: the new president and his deputy take office.
Trump refuses to acknowledge defeat
US President Donald Trump attends a meeting on vaccines at the White House on December 8 – Photo: Tom Brenner / Reuters
Trump has been trying to reverse the outcome of the ballot box in court, citing fraud or problems in the vote counting systems. However, no irregularities were found capable of reversing Biden’s victory, and on Friday the Supreme Court denied a request by Trump’s Texas authorities to overturn the election result in four key states.
Due to this tense atmosphere caused by Trump supporters, in some states voters in the Electoral College gathered under tight security measures. It was feared that protests or even violent acts could endanger the integrity of the participants.
Likewise, a growing number of Republican Party politicians, like the president, are acknowledging Biden’s victory in the election.
This Monday it was the turn of Senator John Cornyn, a Trump ally. The congressman said he considered the Democrat “a president-elect susceptible to any judicial questioning,” but admitted that he “expects a turn of the page in January, with a peaceful transition.”
“There are times when you have to admit that despite your best efforts, you haven’t been successful,” Cornyn said.
VIDEOS: 2020 U.S. Elections
