Every four years, the Electoral College meets to affirm their votes to the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. On Dec.14, 2020, the electors met in their respective states and cast their votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
President-elect Biden will be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.
But before that happens, Congress will meet in a joint session on January 6. Their job is to count the Electoral College votes, and Senate President Mike Pence will announce the outcome.
President Trump still has not conceded. During an impromptu press conference, he responded to a question about conceding once the Electoral College was filed. He said:
Certainly, I will, and you know that. I will and, you know that.
Yet, in the next breathe, the president said it would be difficult to concede when there was so much fraud.
Trump Attempts to Subvert the Election Ahead of Electoral College
His vigorous attempts to overturn the election have been met with denials. His team filed at least 48 cases alleging fraud, mismanagement of rules, and lack of transparency. The most recent attempt to subvert the election was filed by Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney general.
The AG sought the United States Supreme Court’s permission to sue Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin over their voting methods. Each of these Republican-led states submitted its election certification documents on or before the deadline of Dec. 8, 2020. Yet, Paxton thought is necessary to file the case — which was brutally and summarily dismissed.
There are rumors that Trump loyalists are planning to contest the election results after Congress has tallied the votes. If they choose to do this, the person contesting must present their reason in writing and provide two signatures — one senator and one house member.
Next, the House and Senate meet in their respective chambers to debate the matter. They have two hours to conclude whether or not voter fraud occurred during the election. Both bodies of Congress must reach the same conclusion.
CNN reports since the Democrats hold the majority in the House and enough Senators indicated they would not support allegations of a tainted election, those filing would only delaying the inevitable.
Electoral College Affirms Voters’ Choice
The Electoral College is not a place — it is a process. America’s Founding Fathers placed it in the Constitution. Its function is to be a “middle man” between the president’s election by qualified voters and the election of the same by a vote in Congress.
The final results to today’s Electoral College votes affirm Biden will be the 46th President of the United States, and Harris will be the 49th Vice President of the United States.
Biden secured the victory over Trump — 306 Electoral votes vs. 232, respectively.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
CNN: Electoral College vote affirms Biden’s win
National Archives: Electoral College
The Washington Post: What the Electoral College vote means for Trump and Biden; by Dareh Gregorian
Featured Image Courtesy of Geoff Livingston’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of adonis paul hunter’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
