Dec. 14th Electoral College Vote and Senate Procedures

The State Members of the Electoral College will gather in their Respective States, on Monday Dec. 14th, to Cast their Official Ballots for President/Vice-President.

You can watch the Electoral College Vote: Most States offer Livestreams to Watch the Proceedings. The Electors don’t Meet in One place or at One time; some start at 10 a.m. Eastern, most Vote in the afternoon. California meets at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Electors for each State and the District of Columbia meet at a Location Chosen by the State Legislature, most often the State’s Capitol. The Delaware Electors are Meeting in a Gym. Nevada is the Only State holding its Meeting Virtually this year.

The Electors Cast their Ballots via a Paper Ballot. Thirty-Three States and the District of Columbia Legally Require their Electors to choose whoever Won the State’s Popular Vote. Bhe all States have some sort of Agreement each Electors signs; I do hereby consent and do hereby agree to serve as elector for President and Vice-President of the United States, if elected to that position, and do hereby agree that, if so elected, I shall cast my ballot as such elector for:

The Supreme Court recently Decided an Elector must Vote for the Winner of their State, so Electors are “Bind”, meaning they Can't Vote for whomever they Choose. That is why there are Alternate Electors selected, to Replace anyone who chooses someone else.

After the Electors Cast their Ballots, the Votes are Counted and the Electors Sign Certificates showing the Results. These are paired with Certificates from the Governor’s Office showing the State’s Vote Totals. The Certificates are sent to: Vice President, Mike Pence, in his Capacity as President of the Senate; the Office of the Federal Register; the Secretary of State of each State; and the Chief judge of the Federal District Court where the Electors meet.

Congress Officially Counts the Votes in a Joint Session held in the House Chamber on Jan. 6th, with Pence Presiding. Pence Opens the Certificates, in Alphabetical Order by State, and presents them to Four “Tellers”, Two from the House and Two from the Senate, who Count the Votes. Pence then Announces the Result.

The Proceeding is Strictly prescribed by Federal Law, down to where various Politicians Sit in the Chamber. Pence gets the Speaker’s Chair, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sits to his left, and the “Tellers” sit at the Clerks’ Desks.

The Session cannot End until the Count is Complete and the Result Publicly declared. At this Point, the Election is Officially decided. The only remaining Task is the Inauguration on Jan. 20th.

Since the New Members will be Sworn-In on Jan. 3rd, the Next Congress will Conduct this Joint Session. Democrats will hold Control of the House, 222-211. Republicans will Control the Senate, 51-48. Two Democrate Elections were Special Elections and the Winners were already seated.

Regardless of the Results of the Georgia Runoff Elections on Jan. 5th, because Pence will still be in Office to Act as the Tiebreaking Vote if the Chamber is Split 50 to 50.

There is No Debate permitted during the Counting of the Electoral Votes. But after the Result is Read, Members of Congress get One Opportunity to Lodge their Concerns.

Any Objection to a State’s Results must be made in Writing and be Signed by at least One Senator and One Member of the House, of that State.

The Two Chambers would then Separate to Debate the Objection. Each Member of Congress can Speak only Once, for Five Minutes, and after Two Hours the Debate is Cut-Off. Each Body then Votes on whether to Reject the State’s Results.

Since the Electoral Count Act was passed in 1887, there have been just Two Instances of Congressional Objections, in 1969 and 2005. Neither Passed either the House or the Senate.

With some Trump Allies already Planning Objections, the Congressional Session is likely to make for Good Political Theater. But the Process has Little chance of Changing the outcome of the Election.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker