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Joe Biden has won the presidential election in the United States several times already. First, on November 7, when the media, based on official results, confirmed his triumph in enough states to secure the White House.
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Since then, has once again triumphed in more than 50 lawsuits filed by Donald Trump to try to block his success but that were rejected in a forceful way by the courts of the country.
Despite this, no victory has been as important as the one that occurred this Monday, when it was confirmed by the Electoral College, the body that is responsible for electing the president in the complex US electoral system.
Throughout the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, the members of this College met to vote for the winner in their territory. It took 270 to become president and Biden got 306 to Trump’s 232.
(Also: Trump’s defeat and his attempt to delegitimize the electoral process)
Although under normal conditions this would have been only a formal step to confirm what happened in each state, Trump’s insistence on not knowing the result caused all eyes to be fixed on this date as the final one to definitively bury the Republican president’s assault on American democracy.
Among other things because Trump himself had openly asked the congresses of several states to ignore the outcome of the elections and give him, arbitrarily, the votes of the Electoral College.
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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the speech after their victory.
EFE / ANDREW HARNIK / POOL
Despite enormous pressure against his own party officials, they all refused once it became clear that the fraud allegations were unsubstantiated and unmasked by conservative and liberal judges in at least 6 states.
The latest blow to Trump’s fantasy was dealt by the Supreme Court of Justice this past Friday, when it unanimously overthrew a lawsuit that sought to annul the vote in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The nine magistrates, including six conservatives and three of them appointed by the president, did not even want to hear the case.
Throughout this long process, Biden remained silent and focused on shaping the government that will accompany him as of January 20.
(Of interest: What will happen after Joe Biden’s victory is confirmed?)
But after knowing the result of the Electoral College -which ensures his triumph- he gave a speech in which he spoke about the strength of American democracy throughout this process and the need to turn the page and unify the country.
“In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed. The people voted. Trust in our institutions endured. The integrity of our choices remains intact … In this country politicians do not take power. The people give it to them. Time to move on, unite and heal”Said the president-elect.
Despite his defeats in the courtroom, recount, and now before the Electoral College, Trump persists in not giving his arm to twist. This weekend he was launched against the decision of the Supreme Court and insisted that he will win the elections even without having a viable path. At least not constitutional.
And he has convinced a good part of his followers that Biden’s triumph is illegitimate. Something that was reflected this Saturday during a march of his supporters in the US capital that turned violent and left several injured
While some politicians in his party have begun to distance themselves and already acknowledge the vice president’s victory publicly, others, especially in the House of Representatives, persist in accompanying him and promise to keep the fight until the last moment.
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The outgoing president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Oliver Contreras. EFE
Trump’s new strategy points to next January 6. That is the day on which the National Congress counts the Electoral College votes that were sent to it by mail.
On paper, it is another formal act. But it has the potential to extend the drama for a few more days.
According to US electoral rules, if a House representative and a Senator object to a state’s vote, Congress must debate the issue and then decide whether or not to accept that objection.
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As a legislator in the lower house has already appeared and has indicated that he will do so and it is taken for granted that at least one member of the Senate will second him, everything indicates that they will have to put it to a vote.
For the objection to win – and that state’s votes are annulled – both houses must pass it.
But since Democrats have a majority in the House of Representatives, the chances of their prosperity are nil. And the Republicans know that.
In other words, It is an alternative that has no teeth and is seen more as an exercise to please Trump and prevent him from undertaking it against those who did not accompany him in this quixotic crusade.
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That said, its impact cannot be underestimated. On the one hand, it would force Congress to decide on something that was supposed to have been resolved by the voters at the polls.
And if Trump manages to line up all the Republicans, they could give him a victory in the upper house, even if it is symbolic.
But perhaps the worst is his message for the future.
The only task of Congress this January 6 is to count the votes of the Electoral College and make sure that the votes it is counting are the ones sent by the state
If this is normalized tomorrow, a party that has control of both chambers could ignore the popular will and name the losing candidate as president.
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According to Edward Foley, director of the Constitutional Center of the University of Ohio, something like this would end American democracy because it is contrary to the same laws.
“The only task of Congress this January 6 is to count the votes of the Electoral College and make sure that the votes it is counting are those that the state sent them. It is not up to it to judge or litigate if that state complied with the rules for electing members of the College or settling complaints about alleged irregularities“says Foley.
According to this analyst, although it is likely that “some senator decides to give transitory oxygen to this farce, everyone knows that the road came to an end this Monday. And the faster they recognize it, the better for everyone.”
Biden asks Trump to acknowledge defeat
After knowing the decision of the Electoral College, Joe Biden asked this Monday “respectfully” the outgoing president, Donald Trump, to acknowledge defeat in the November elections.
He also said that the Republican president has challenged the Constitution and “the popular will” by not recognizing the electoral results.
“It is such an extreme position that we have never seen it before. A position that has refused to respect the popular will, has refused to respect the rule of law and has refused to honor our Constitution,” Biden said in a speeches.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
On Twitter: @ sergom68
