What happens after the electoral college meets?
Alright, so the (other) big vote happens tomorrow. Then what?
Remember those six certificates the electors sign? Well they get sent out to a bunch of places. Importantly, one goes to Congress.
On January 7 AEDT, the new Congress holds a joint session to open those certificates, which are then presented to four tellers who count them. Once Biden reaches his 270 electoral college votes — Vice-President Mike Pence then announces the result.
This is a super formal process, and there are rules even governing where people sit in the chamber, according to the New York Times.
Now, there *is* a chance for Congress to intervene at this point. And we should probably expect some shenanigans in January.
Once Pence announces the result, a member of the House or Senate can contest the electoral college vote. If that happens, the House and the Senate have to split from the joint sitting and debate the objection for up to two hours. If BOTH the House and the Senate vote to sustain that objection, then the result can be overturned.
But in the new Congress, the House will be controlled by Democrats. Which means that no matter what objections are raised on January 7 AEDT, they're going to get voted down and Joe Biden will announced as the winner of the election. We'll probably be in for a few hours of ~drama~ before that happens though.
Once ALL THIS is settled, that's officially it. Biden and Harris are locked in as the next president and vice-president. The official line of succession kicks in. All that's left is inauguration.
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December 14, 2020 at 03:35AM
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US politics live updates: Donald Trump loses legal challenge in Georgia on eve of Electoral College vote - ABC News
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