Congress’s vote to certify Biden’s win: The best way to watch, what to anticipate, and schedule

The ultimate step in making the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election official — earlier than Inauguration Day itself — takes place Wednesday, January 6, when Congress counts the Electoral Faculty votes and formally confirms Joe Biden’s win.

This normally isn’t a very dramatic event, for the reason that Electoral Faculty vote rely — 306 votes for Biden, 232 for Donald Trump — was finalized when the electors forged their votes in December. However Trump and his allies have overvalued Wednesday’s rely as the ultimate showdown within the president’s efforts to overturn Biden’s victory. And there’ll certainly be some fireworks.

You’ll be able to watch the joint session of Congress, which begins at a legally mandated time of 1 pm Jap, on C-SPAN, and we’ll embed a livestream on this publish as soon as one is out there. The entire affair might drag on for hours, and even into later this week.

That’s as a result of some congressional Republicans have determined to formally object to the leads to key swing states Biden gained, claiming they will’t be trusted on account of allegations of fraud. When at the least one Home member and one senator object to any state’s outcomes, it triggers the chambers to separate for 2 hours of debate and a vote over whether or not the objection ought to stand.

This implies members of Congress should resolve whether or not to reject the leads to states Biden gained, which might disregard the need of these states’ voters. And a big variety of Republicans have already made clear they are going to attempt to just do that, therefore the possibly hours- and even days-long rely.

However the entire outcomes will stand. Really throwing out the electoral votes from any state would require approval from each homes of Congress. The Democratic-controlled Home clearly gained’t do that, and within the Senate, many Republicans have stated they gained’t go down this highway.

There’s additionally been some intrigue over the position of Vice President Mike Pence. The US Structure requires him, as president of the Senate, to preside over the rely. Trump and a few of his supporters have embraced the fanciful idea that Pence can unilaterally reject the electoral votes of disputed states. Whereas Pence’s group has signaled he doesn’t agree, we gained’t know for certain till we see what he does on Wednesday.

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There’s additionally the query of what’s going to occur exterior the partitions of Congress. Trump has inspired supporters to go to Washington, DC, and protest because the rely is happening. “Be there, can be wild!” he tweeted in December. Certainly, there have already been a number of situations of violence and clashes amongst pro-Trump protesters and counterprotesters in the course of the post-election interval.

In a single sense, no matter unfolds in Congress can be numerous sound and fury that modifications nothing: Biden can be sworn in as the following president in two weeks. But the spectacle of dozens of elected Republicans popping out in assist of disregarding the need of voters has been an unsettling one which factors to additional difficulties forward for the nation’s politics.

What does it imply for Congress to rely the electoral votes?

Because the American folks voted within the presidential election on November 3, we’ve been progressively progressing by means of the procedural steps that make the following president official. First, the states licensed their outcomes and appointed electors accordingly (Biden-supporting electors in states Biden gained, and Trump-supporting electors in states Trump gained). Second, on December 14, these electors — the Electoral Faculty — met in every state and forged their votes (306 for Biden, 232 for Trump).

Per the Structure, these electoral votes are then despatched to Congress, which can rely them throughout a joint session.

“The President of the Senate” — that’s Pence — “shall, within the presence of the Senate and Home of Representatives, open all of the certificates and the votes shall then be counted,” the 12th Modification reads. “The individual having the best Variety of votes for President, shall be the President, if such quantity be a majority of the entire variety of Electors appointed.”

That’s the ultimate milestone earlier than the brand new president is inaugurated on January 20, and in a typical yr, it’s professional forma — in different phrases, a routine matter. We all know what the electoral votes are; Congress’s solely job is to rely them.

However there’s a catch.

Members of Congress can object to states’ Electoral Faculty outcomes

After the extraordinarily messy disputed election of 1876 (which was finally resolved by a 15-person advert hoc fee and doubtless a backroom deal), Congress determined to get its act collectively and clarify, by regulation, how the counting of the electoral votes ought to work in case of future disputes.

The consequence was the Electoral Depend Act of 1887, later amended in 1948. (You’ll be able to learn the at the moment operative part of US Code it created right here.) It establishes:

• A date and time for Congress to rely the electoral votes (January 6 at 1 pm Jap)
• That the rely will happen in alphabetical order by state title (from Alabama to Wyoming)
• That the vice chairman will “open” the electoral vote certificates after which hand them to 4 “tellers” appointed by the Home and Senate — this yr, these tellers are Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
• That the tellers will learn the electoral votes for every state, rely them, and provides them again to the vice chairman
• And — right here’s the vital half this yr — that the vice chairman will then “name for objections”

To be deemed so as, any objection should be in writing and should be signed by at the least one senator and one member of the Home.

If such an objection is submitted for any state’s outcomes, what occurs subsequent is that the Home and Senate go their separate methods. There can be two hours of debate, after which every chamber will vote. However, once more, it might take a majority vote in each the Home and the Senate to reject the leads to any state.

Trump’s congressional allies plan to object to the outcomes of some states Biden gained

Over the previous two months, Trump’s effort to overturn the election outcomes has concerned making an attempt — and failing — to intrude with a number of normally routine facets of the electoral course of. He tried to get Republican state officers to refuse to certify Biden’s victories, he tried to get state legislatures to exchange Biden electors with Trump electors, and he filed dozens of lawsuits making an attempt to get judges to step in.

So contesting the leads to Congress is the pure subsequent step. It’s been clear since early December that some pro-Trump Home Republicans would attempt to object to the leads to sure states — and in current days, a number of senators have made clear that they’ll be part of them.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the primary to make his intention to object clear, and shortly afterward, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) organized his personal effort with 10 different senators (they’re demanding Congress kind a fee to evaluation the outcomes over the following 10 days).

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Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name by way of Getty Pictures

A lot of the objecting senators haven’t totally embraced Trump’s claims that the election was stolen. However they’re pandering to Trump’s supporters, arguing that as a result of so many People lack confidence within the outcomes, they merely can’t in good conscience rely these electoral votes. They have a tendency to not acknowledge {that a} major cause many People lack confidence within the outcomes is as a result of Trump himself retains selling a blizzard of lies and conspiracy theories.

In any case, there may be some restricted precedent to objections like this. In January 2005, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) objected to George W. Bush’s win in Ohio, forcing a vote on the matter (each chambers overwhelmingly upheld Bush’s win). However the context there was completely different — Kerry had conceded lengthy earlier than. And the one different objection taken up by Congress for the reason that Electoral Depend Act handed was in 1969, a few faithless elector who had voted for George Wallace relatively than Richard Nixon (Congress upheld the Wallace vote).

Nevertheless, there have additionally been instances when Home members have tried to object to outcomes however senators refused to affix them, that means the objections wouldn’t be taken up. As an illustration, in January 2017, a number of Home Democrats tried to object to Trump’s win, however they couldn’t discover a single senator to affix them, so it went nowhere. An analogous spectacle unfolded in January 2001, after the infamously shut Bush versus Gore election.

These challenges is not going to succeed — however they may drag out the method

The way in which these challenges work, it’s important to object to leads to a selected state (because the rely proceeds in alphabetical order by state). And it’s not clear at this level what number of states will face objections. In accordance with Politico’s Olivia Beavers, objections to Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania are probably. Trump has disputed the leads to Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin as nicely, however no senator has but dedicated to objecting to them. (If solely Home members object, the objection can be ignored.)

It’s additionally unclear how lengthy this may find yourself taking. In January 2017, the total rely of the Electoral Faculty outcomes took lower than an hour. However every time there’s an objection ({that a} Home member and senator again) for a state, it might delay the method for 2 hours plus the time it takes to carry votes in every chamber. (It will even be doable, if Congress reaches settlement, to dispense with the objections extra shortly.) So the rely might stretch nicely into the night and even later within the week, relying on what number of objections are heard.

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However the final result is for certain. Present estimates are that nicely over half of Home Republicans will find yourself objecting, however some others, like Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and Thomas Massie (R-KY), have introduced they oppose this effort. And in any case, Democrats management the Home, and naturally none of them will signal on. Within the Senate, in the meantime, enthusiasm amongst Republicans for difficult the outcomes has been comparatively sparse, and all Democrats will oppose it.

So on one hand, this effort is a political stunt that can do nothing to alter the end result, because it was at all times sure that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Home would stop any problem from succeeding. Which may be how some Republicans are justifying signing on — however a few of their colleagues sound appalled at this conduct. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, for example, has stated: “Adults don’t level a loaded gun on the coronary heart of authentic self-government.” Different Republicans have expressed concern for states’ rights if a precedent is established that Congress can overturn the end result.

What can Mike Pence do?

One different notable function of the proceedings is that Vice President Mike Pence will preside over the rely — a undeniable fact that has spurred some Trump allies and now the president himself to hope or fake that Pence can in some way change the outcomes.

This assertion that the vice chairman can throw out electoral votes he doesn’t like would definitely be information to each earlier vice chairman who has been on this place. And it definitely doesn’t appear to have any foundation within the regulation or the Structure.

The 12th Modification says Pence’s job is to “open all of the certificates,” and provides that “the votes shall then be counted.” So technically, he’s not even answerable for counting, simply of “opening.”

We should always word right here that Trump’s marketing campaign tried to call slates of “alternate electors” in states they wish to dispute. In accordance with Frank Thorp of NBC Information, although, the Nationwide Archives stated that as a result of none of those elector slates have been licensed by any state, they’d not be despatched alongside to Congress to be counted (apparently dashing Trump followers’ hopes that Pence might pull them out of the envelopes and attempt to rely them Wednesday).

Some Trump supporters have pointed to an occasion associated to the 1960 election, wherein John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon, as doable precedent for Pence to take motion. That yr, the brand new state of Hawaii had submitted its electoral votes (for Nixon) whereas a recount was nonetheless in progress — however the recount made Kennedy the winner, so the state then submitted a second set of electoral votes for Kennedy.

With then-Vice President Nixon presiding, Congress then needed to decide how one can cope with these dueling Hawaiian electoral vote slates (although they wouldn’t have an effect on the general final result). Nixon proposed that Congress rely the second set, the votes for JFK, to keep away from delaying the method. However he didn’t make this choice unilaterally — he provided it as a suggestion to Congress, which accepted it by unanimous consent.

So what this instance actually reveals is that previous vice presidents have interpreted their position right here humbly, deferring to Congress and basically studying what they’re imagined to say and do off a script ready by congressional parliamentarians.

Certainly, simply 4 years in the past, it was then-Vice President Joe Biden who presided over the rely for the 2016 election outcomes. Some Home Democrats tried to formally object then, however they couldn’t get any senator to affix them — so Biden gaveled down their objections, declaring at one level, “It’s over.”

This time round, Pence is going through strain from Trump to do one thing weird and unprecedented in the course of the rely to attempt to maintain Trump in workplace. On Monday evening, Trump stated at a rally in Georgia, “I hope that our nice vice chairman comes by means of for us. He’s an ideal man. After all, if he doesn’t come by means of, I gained’t like him fairly as a lot.” Trump and Pence reportedly met on the White Home on each Monday and Tuesday.

Pence (like Hawley and Cruz) has ambitions to run for president himself sooner or later, and he doesn’t need Trump or Trump’s followers among the many GOP base to view him as a traitor and sellout. So he’s making an attempt to sound powerful. “We’ll have our day in Congress. We’ll hear the objections. We’ll hear the proof,” Pence stated at a rally Monday. However that falls notably wanting promising to make use of his authority in legally doubtful methods, as Trump desires.

On Tuesday, incorrect reviews briefly unfold that Pence deliberate to skip the rely completely (based mostly on a garbled assertion by Sen. Chuck Grassley). Pence’s group shortly batted down these reviews, and so they’ve signaled to reporters that he plans to attend — and to make use of his energy responsibly. “Members of the vice chairman’s circle anticipate that Mr. Pence will observe the principles whereas on the Senate flooring and play his ceremonial position as scripted,” the New York Instances’s Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman reported.

President Trump will probably not be so accountable. As 1000’s of his supporters pour into Washington to protest Wednesday, he plans to talk at a rally on the Ellipse. He reveals no indicators of conceding simply but.