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2025 United States Electoral College vote count

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The count of the Electoral College ballots during a joint session of the 119th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act and Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, on January 6, 2025, will be the final step to confirm President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election over Kamala Harris, barring objections.

Harris will be the most recent incumbent vice president since Mike Pence in 2021 to preside over a presidential election in which they were a losing candidate on the ballot.

Background

Electoral College

The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Article Two of the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president. Each state appoints electors according to its legislature, equal in number to its congressional delegation (senators and representatives). Federal office holders cannot be electors. Of the current 538 electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. As stated in the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, if no candidate for either office achieves an absolute majority there, a contingent election is held by the United States House of Representatives to elect the president, and by the United States Senate to elect the vice president; under this amendment, only the election of 1824 failed to produce a majority for president, and the election of 1836 for vice president.

Each state and the District of Columbia produces two documents to be forwarded to Congress, a certificate of ascertainment and a certificate of vote. A certificate of ascertainment is an official document that identifies the state's appointed College electors and the tally of the final popular vote count for each candidate in that state in a presidential election; the certificate of ascertainment is submitted after an election by the governor of each state to the archivist of the United States and others, in accordance with 3 U.S.C. §§ 6–14 and the Electoral Count Act. Within the United States' electoral system, the certificates " a crucial link between the popular vote and votes cast by electors". The certificates must bear the state seal and the governor's signature. Staff from the Office of the Federal Register ensure that each certificate contains all legally required information. When each state's appointed electors meet to vote (on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December), they sign and record their vote on a certificate of vote, which are then paired with the certificate of ascertainment, which together are sent to be opened and counted by Congress.

The 12th Amendment mandates Congress assemble in joint session to count the electoral votes and declare the winners of the election. The Electoral Count Act, a federal law enacted in 1887, further established specific procedures for the counting of the electoral votes by the joint Congress. The session is ordinarily required to take place on January 6 in the calendar year immediately following the meetings of the presidential electors. Since the 20th Amendment, the newly elected joint Congress declares the winner of the election; all elections before 1936 were determined by the outgoing Congress.

United States Code provides that, during the vote count, objections can be made via a petition signed by at least twenty percent of each house of Congress arguing that "The vote of one or more electors has not been regularly given," i.e. not in accord with the constitution, with the Insurrection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment being a potential topic of debate in light of Trump's activities during the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack. The certification of a state's vote can be rejected only if both houses of Congress, debating separately, vote to accept an objection by a majority in each house. If the objection is approved by both houses, the state's votes are not included in the count, ostensibly providing a potential path for Kamala Harris to receive the most votes. Individual votes can also be objected to, and are also not counted. If there are no objections or all objections are overruled, the presiding officer simply includes a state's votes, as declared in the certificate of vote, in the official tally. After the certificates from all states are read and the respective votes are counted, the presiding officer announces the final state of the vote. This announcement concludes the joint session and formalizes the recognition of the president-elect and of the vice president-elect. The senators then depart from the House chamber. The final tally is printed in the Senate and House journals.

Legislative changes

On December 23, 2022, the 117th Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act. President Joe Biden signed it into law six days later. Before this law, any senator could challenge the electoral vote; this law requires the minimum support of one-fifth of the senators to raise an objection. The 2025 proceeding will be the first Electoral College vote count to which this law applies.

Presidential transition teams

Before a presidential election, candidates must plan to ensure government continuity if they take office. In August 2024, Harris tapped Yohannes Abraham to lead her Harris presidential transition team while Trump tapped Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon as co-chairs of his Trump presidential transition team.

Security preparations

On September 11, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security designated the vote count as a National Special Security Event.

Before the November election, Democrats on the House Committee on Administration, which has oversight of federal election laws, planned how they would deal with a hypothetical obstruction attempt by the Republicans.

Slates of electors

Some people who had volunteered as fake electors in 2020 were appointed to serve as legitimate electors for Trump should he win certain states in 2024. As of October 2024, there were six such electors in Michigan, five in Pennsylvania, two in Nevada and one in New Mexico.

Electoral College vote

The electoral college voted on 17 December 2024. All electors voted as pledged, and there were no faithless electors.

See also

• Second presidential transition of Donald Trump

Notes

1. Pursuant to the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, an objection requires the assent of one-fifth of the members of each chamber of Congress in order to be sustained before the joint sitting. In all these cases, the attempted objections failed to receive assent from the requisite number of members.

References

1. ^ Neale, Thomas H. (October 22, 2020). "The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline". Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
2. Robinson, Courtney (November 17, 2020). "It's official: Florida certifies its 2020 election results". WTSP. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
3. Conniff, Ruth (November 19, 2020). "Wisconsin's divisive presidential recount begins". Wisconsin Examiner. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
4. ^ Astor, Maggie (November 12, 2020). "Here's What Will Happen Between Election Day and Inauguration Day". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
5. Bedillion, Caleb (November 16, 2020). "Final vote tally shows Lee County turnout increase". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
6. Lee, Jessica (November 19, 2020). "Could Trump Defy Popular Vote By Halting Voter Certification?". Snopes. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
7. Albiges, Marie (November 13, 2020). "Meet Pennsylvania's Electoral College voters: Everything they can — and can't — do". WHYY. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
8. Karson, Kendall (December 8, 2020). "What to know about Tuesday's 'safe harbor' deadline to certify election results". ABC News. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
9. ^ Viebeck, Elise; Santamariña, Daniela (November 12, 2020). "Vote certification deadlines in states facing legal challenges from Trump, GOP". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
10. Montellaro, Zach (November 19, 2020). "What you need to know about how the Electoral College works". Politico. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
11. ^ Neale, Thomas H. (October 22, 2020). "The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline". Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
12. Friedmann, Sarah (November 3, 2016). "The Certificate Of Ascertainment Records Each Vote". Bustle. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
13. "The 2020 Presidential Election: Provisions of the Constitution and U.S. Code" (PDF). Office of the Federal Register. National Archives and Records Administration. July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
14. Dixon, R. G. (June 1950). "Electoral College Procedure". The Western Political Quarterly. 3 (2). University of Utah: 214–224. doi:10.2307/443484. JSTOR 443484.
15. "Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11–27". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2021. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted.
16. Rybicki, Elizabeth; Whitaker, L. Paige. "Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
17. 3 U.S.C. § 15, Counting electoral votes in Congress
18. ^ Davis, Evan A.; Schulte, David M. (December 26, 2024). "Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now". The Hill. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
19. ^ Craig, Andy (September 1, 2022). "Valid Grounds for Objections in the Electoral Count Reform Act". Cato Institute. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
20. ^ "3 U.S. Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved January 3, 2025 – via Cornell Law School.
21. Jalonick, Mary Clare (December 15, 2020). "EXPLAINER: How Congress will count Electoral College votes". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
22. Wang, Amy; Goodwin, Liz (December 23, 2022). "House joins Senate in passing Electoral Count Act overhaul in response to Jan. 6 attack". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
23. Bobic, Igor (September 14, 2024). "Lawmakers Fear More Jan. 6-Like Violence As Trump Amps Up Election Lies". HuffPost. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
24. Dovere, Edward-Isaac (August 19, 2024). "Kamala Harris begins standard planning for presidential transition". CNN. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
25. Slattery, Gram (August 16, 2024). "Trump taps major donors to lead transition effort should he return to power". Reuters. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
26. "Feds increase security for Jan. 6 in effort to prevent Capitol attack repeat".
27. Vlachou, Marita (September 12, 2024). "Department Of Homeland Security Will Treat Next Jan. 6 As National Special Security Event". HuffPost. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
28. MacFarlane, Scott (October 15, 2024). "Democrats in Congress seek to prevent another Jan. 6 riot, protect Electoral College certification". CBS News. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
29. Cohen, Marshall; Gainor, Danya; Main, Alison; Kamp, Majlie de Puy; Tolan, Casey; Ortega, Bob (October 17, 2024). "At least 30 election deniers and 2020 fake electors serving as Trump electors this year". CNN. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
30. Powell, Maureen Chowdhury, Tori B. (December 17, 2024). "Electoral College voting concludes with no faithless electors". CNN. Retrieved December 18, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• 2024 Electoral College Results from the National Archives

• 2024 United States presidential election
• United States Electoral College
• Vote counting
• Presidency of Joe Biden
• 119th United States Congress