What will be the result of Wednesday’s joint session of congress certifying the Electoral College? In short, uncertainty remains.
Both the House and Senate require electoral college votes to be cast on Capitol Hill, but because of the outbreak’s diagnosis and isolation, no one knows which members of Congress will show up on Jan. 6; This Congress is very close.
On January 6, Vice President Mike Pence, the President of the Senate, will chair a joint meeting in the House conference room, and the electoral votes will be read and counted in alphabetical order by two members appointed by each chamber.
They will present the results to Mr Pence, who will announce them and hear objections. If there are objections, the House and Senate will consider them separately to decide how to count the votes.
Specifically, what happens when at least one representative and one senator together oppose a state’s electoral vote in writing? Take the key state of Arizona for an example of the process.
What will both houses do when the challenge is triggered?
Representative Mo Brooks, a Republican, and dozens of house members are expected to challenge Arizona’s electoral rolls. And Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican, has said he will join the Challenge from House Republicans.
The coalition of 11 Republican senators, led by Senator Ted Cruz, did not say explicitly that it would challenge a state’s electors at the meeting, but they said they intended to reject electors from disputed states on January 6 if Congress did not start a commission to investigate electoral fraud.
This means that a joint session will be suspended for two hours before the votes are counted in a particular state, and then the two houses of Congress will meet separately. The House may continue to meet together in the House chamber; Senators walked through the Capitol Rotunda and back to the Senate chamber.
During those two hours, the House and Senate will separately consider and debate any challengers who challenge Arizona’s electoral rolls.
During the two-hour window, lawmakers who wish to speak may do so for up to five minutes. Then, the House of Representatives and the Senate each vote separately. In order for a state’s electoral vote to be invalidated, both the House and the Senate must reject it simultaneously.
If that happens, the electoral rolls will disappear. Then the House and Senate reconvene to deal with the electoral votes of other states.
In other words, a decision to revoke a state’s electoral vote requires the approval of a majority of both houses of Congress.
So far, it is difficult for majorities in both the House and Senate to agree to invalidate a state’s electoral votes because Democrats do not support it and Republicans are divided.
How many lawmakers from both parties will attend is unclear
For now, Democrats are almost certain to vote en bloc to reject any electoral challenge from Republicans. Likewise, a certain number of Republicans are sure to challenge Democrats in both the House and the Senate.
In addition, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, there is not much difference in the number of members in the House and Senate. On January 4th a 77-year-old newly elected Republican congresswoman from Texas was confirmed, and she attended an induction ceremony on January 3rd. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled a confirmed Democrat from the House of Representatives, in order to vote on The 3rd, to help Democrats retain the Speaker of the House.
So it is impossible to predict how many people will be unable to attend Jan. 6 because of a positive test or quarantine after close contact.
The House of Representatives has reinstated its system of “remote voting” in the 117th new Congress, and the Senate has never set a rule for remote voting. However, the House of Representatives is prohibited from using remote voting while the Electoral College is certified.
What time does the meeting finish? Maybe until the 7th
So, with six or seven key states now expected, the challenge is to extend the meeting by several hours. Considering each state has two hours of time limit of the debate, and the time needed for roll-call vote, the house of representatives, on average, every time a roll-call vote for about 1 hour, and then there’s the etiquette, speech, and through the electoral college list time without controversy, electoral vote final certification may be extended by early January 7, or in the evening of January 7, or more.
The Election Counting Act allowed parliament to adjourn. But the House and The Senate cannot dissolve a joint session of Congress until the Electoral College is final, and Congress must end the matter within five days.
A roll-call vote is triggered for each contested state, and then the House and Senate each state clarifies their position on the Electoral College, for example, in Pennsylvania or Michigan.
Why did some Republicans oppose the challenge?
Lawmakers’ votes can be a double-edged sword, and there are states and territories where republican lawmakers’ yes or no votes — statements about presidential candidates — can help or hurt voters in their own districts. Choosing the wrong direction can be politically dangerous.
That is why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans want to avoid this electoral quagmire. For the Republicans, a choice must be made.
Democratic lawmakers, too, face serious questions of integrity if evidence of massive fraud emerges from their districts that cannot be explained.
In any case, on January 6th, 7th or 8th, members of Congress will have a decision to make. Everyone in Congress will be on the record, either defending the electoral College results or rejecting them.
What if no candidate gets 270?
On January 6th a joint session of Congress will decide to count towards the Electoral College, which has 538 votes — one for each Congressman and one for the senate, plus three for Washington, DC.
If no presidential candidate receives a majority of votes — the threshold of 270 — the 435 members of the House of Representatives decide the election.
At that time, representatives will be counted as one vote per state. Republicans now control more state delegations, making Trump a more likely choice.
The House of Representatives has until noon on January 20th to choose the president. If they cannot, the vice president or the next eligible presidential successor will be chosen.
The Senate has to choose the vice president.
Georgia’s 5 th reelection may take place during the session
The House currently has 432 members, 222 Democrats, 210 Republicans and three vacant seats; There are currently 51 Republicans and 48 Democrats in the Senate.
Georgia’s senate reelection on January 5th will determine the shape of the Senate.
Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from New York who replaced Senator Johnny Isakson on Jan. 6, 2019, when he resigned due to health issues, will remain in the senate until her expiration in two years. Republican Senator David Perdue, whose term ends Jan. 1, is seeking re-election.
If Joe’s senate reelection results come out during a joint session, that means the senate could change in the middle of the way. If the Democrats win two Of Joe’s senate seats, the senate will be 50-50 and the next vice president will have the deciding vote. If Republicans can hold on to at least one vote, they will retain their narrow majority in the Senate.
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