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California’s 55 voters put Joe Biden over the 270 Electoral College votes needed to become president shortly after 5 p.m. ET Monday, affirming Biden’s election as the 46th president of the United States.
Voters from all 50 states and the District of Columbia gathered in their respective capitals on Monday to cast their votes.
The Electoral College vote, however, is not the final step in the constitutional process of selecting a president. Votes cast Monday are sent to Congress, where they will be counted on January 6 in a joint session led by Vice President Mike Pence.
Many Congressional Republicans who have so far refused to say that Biden won the election have said they are waiting for the Electoral College vote on Monday to certify the results. But some of Trump’s staunch Republican allies are gearing up for a fight on the floor when votes are counted in Congress next month.
Legislators can dispute the outcome of a state’s election when the votes are counted next month. But a challenge can only be considered if a member of the House and a senator sign it. So far, only Republicans in the House of Representatives have said they will contest the results, although some Republican senators have suggested they are considering joining.
Even if a senator signs to question the results, he is only delaying the inevitable. In that case, the House and Senate debate the matter separately for two hours and vote on it. Democrats control the House, and enough Republican senators have already said they reject Trump’s claims of fraud that a challenge would not succeed there, either.
After state voters cast their votes on Monday, those results will be certified and sent to Congress, the National Archives and the courts.
On January 20, a new president takes office at noon.
Read more about the next steps here.
