On Wednesday (Jan. 6), the U.S. presidential election will enter the final phase of the process, with the Trump team and many Republican lawmakers announcing that they will challenge the electoral vote results in Congress on Jan. 6, and the Democratic camp saying that they are prepared for a potential challenge. This article will include the usual flow of events on Jan. 6, as well as a glimpse of what could happen.
Vice President Pence will preside over the meeting
On January 6, under the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are required to meet in joint session at 1 p.m. to count the results of each state’s Electoral College votes.
In the joint session of the two chambers, Vice President Mike Pence will preside over the meeting in his capacity as Senate President. However, in exceptional circumstances, the Senate President Pro Tempore (the top member of the majority party) will preside in place of the vice president, with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) serving as President Pro Tempore.
In 1968, Democratic candidate and then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey lost to Nixon during the presidential campaign, and in that year’s session, Humphrey was absent for the funeral of the first Secretary General of the United Nations, Trif Lee, so his duties were presided over by Speaker pro tempore Daniel de Gaulle (Richard Russell).
Process and Potential Options for Public Election Certification
Under the constitutional process, the vice president should “make the election certification public and then count the votes” and “the person with the highest number of votes becomes president.”
Regarding the process, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) argued that Pence should have the option in his process, while Democrats countered that it is only a ceremonial process. Gohmert previously filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court over Pence’s “exclusive power” to declare that Pence could decide to count alternative electoral votes, rather than having to count the disputed state electoral votes, but the case was dismissed by the court on the grounds that “the court has no authority to decide the case. The court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that “the Court has no authority to decide the case.
On Dec. 14, 50 states filed their election certificates. Each state will provide a certificate to Washington. At the same time, the Republican Electoral College in seven states announced alternative votes to provide a legal basis for the Trump team’s lawsuit.
Fox News believes that Pence may have the option of “issuing” the election certificate under the Twelfth Amendment. As was the case in 1960, in the presidential election between President John F. Kennedy and future President Richard Nixon, Congress used a substitute electoral vote for the state of Hawaii, which was signed by the governor as well as the official vote. However, Hawaii was not the deciding state at the time, and Kennedy would have won the White House regardless of Hawaii’s affiliation.
Congressional Count of 50 State Electoral College Votes Process
Electoral votes from all 50 states enter the Capitol floor through a redwood box. The vice president reads aloud each state’s ballot in alphabetical order. Alabama and Alaska will not have any problems.
But by the time the third state, Arizona, comes up, disputes may arise, and the next states that will be in dispute may include Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Under the Elections Count Act, at least one petitioner in each House and Senate must file a challenge to the state’s electoral votes, and the challenge must be submitted in writing.
When the Arizona Electoral College votes are revealed, the joint session will be suspended if the House and Senate members jointly challenge the state’s Electoral College votes. The House and Senate will meet back-to-back, and for up to two hours, the House and Senate will each debate the election in Arizona or another swing state.
Members will be allowed to speak for up to five minutes during the two-hour period. The House and Senate then vote separately. Both the House and Senate must reject the state’s electoral votes. This causes the electoral college votes of the disputed state to be nullified. The two chambers then continue to meet in joint session.
The House currently has 432 members, 222 Democrats, 210 Republicans and three vacancies. The Senate has 51 Republicans and 48 senators, and Joe State Senator Ptadu’s current term expires and his seat vacancy could change after January 5.
Outbreak control or extended time voting process could take days
In addition, the outbreak control program in Congress will be a very critical influencing factor.
Fox News noted that the attendance of members of Congress is completely uncertain due to the quarantine and absenteeism caused by the epidemic. The House previously reinstated the “remote voting” system for the 117th Congress, but was unable to use it during the Electoral College vote certification period. The Senate will not use the remote voting option.
During the first House session on Jan. 3, the House asked House members to remain socially distant, so only 72 members could enter the chamber at a time to vote, which slowed down the vote considerably.
As a result, challenges to Electoral College votes can take several hours, leading to the possibility that the final proof of election votes will not be completed until the early morning hours of Jan. 7. Considering that there is a 2-hour debate period for challenges to each state, the process in question could continue to be extended, perhaps taking several days.
The Election Count Act does allow for adjournments. But the House and Senate are not allowed to dissolve a joint session of Congress until the Electoral College votes have been certified. And, Congress must finish the issue within a five-day period.
Every member of Congress will take a public position
In addition, each state’s contested ballot would trigger a roll call vote to record the positions of members of both chambers, as well as the positions of the electors in Pennsylvania or Michigan, among others.
Some politicians would be concerned that declaring support or non-support for an election challenge could have political implications that could hurt political careers and district voter approval ratings.
U.S. Senator McConnell has repeatedly asked Republican senators to stay away from challenges to elections, which he says will affect the political future of the Republican Party, however, after this, at least 12 senators have announced they will launch challenges to election results, and these lawmakers have noted that a large number of American voters are expressing concern about the integrity of election results and as elected members of Congress, they will step forward to issue challenges. In the House of Representatives, there are also dozens of lawmakers who have formally announced challenges to the election.
In short, whether they support the electoral votes of the disputed states or oppose them, each member of Congress must declare a position, the process is public, and the vote will take place on the floor.
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