Read on Twitter
What happens on Wednesday January 6th when the Electoral Votes are counted?
Details:
1. A joint session of Congress will convene at 1pm ET with VP Pence (President of the Senate) will preside and announce the results of each state and the eventual winner. Senator Grassley
/1
Details:
1. A joint session of Congress will convene at 1pm ET with VP Pence (President of the Senate) will preside and announce the results of each state and the eventual winner. Senator Grassley
/1
could be his backup as the Senate pro-tempore.
2. Each states electoral votes will be announced by "tellers" (members from both the House of Representives and the Senate) alphabetically from Alabama to Wyoming.
3. If there is an objection to a states' electors, it is made
/2
2. Each states electoral votes will be announced by "tellers" (members from both the House of Representives and the Senate) alphabetically from Alabama to Wyoming.
3. If there is an objection to a states' electors, it is made
/2
verbally, but requires in writing from at least one member of the House and one member from the Senate for a valid objection; otherwise the objection will be dismissed.
4. If there is a valid objection, each chamber will recess for no more than 2 hours to debate and vote.
/3
4. If there is a valid objection, each chamber will recess for no more than 2 hours to debate and vote.
/3
Each member may only speak for at most 5 minutes. A simple majority is required to disqualify a slate of electors from the given state from BOTH the House and Senate. If not, the original slate of certified electors remains.
5. If neither candidate (for either or both
/4
5. If neither candidate (for either or both
/4
President & Vice-President) reaches 270 electoral votes, the House will vote, by state congregation, with the majority of state delegations (i.e., each state gets 1 vote) determining the winner of the Presidency; whereas the Senate will do the same with each Senator getting 1
/5
/5
vote.
FAQs:
1. Pence has no power as the presiding officer since his role is simply the opening of the envelopes and announcing the results. As Vice-President he could break any ties in the Senate (which is unlikely due to there being 99 senators currently, as explained
/6
FAQs:
1. Pence has no power as the presiding officer since his role is simply the opening of the envelopes and announcing the results. As Vice-President he could break any ties in the Senate (which is unlikely due to there being 99 senators currently, as explained
/6
below).
2. The Democrats hold a majority in the House or Representatives (although the Republican hold a majority of state delegations), while Senate is CURRENTLY 51-48 in favor of the Republicans. Senator Perdue (R-GA) is awaiting the results of the runoff on January 5th (he
/7
2. The Democrats hold a majority in the House or Representatives (although the Republican hold a majority of state delegations), while Senate is CURRENTLY 51-48 in favor of the Republicans. Senator Perdue (R-GA) is awaiting the results of the runoff on January 5th (he
/7
was no longer a sitting Senator when the 117th Congress convened on January 3rd, 2021); Loeffler (R-GA) however remains a senator pending the certification (deadline is January 15th, 2021 at 5pm) of the aforementioned runoff. For purposes of the Senate on January 6th, there
/8
/8
will only be 99 senators.
3. The starting point of certified electors has Biden with 306 electors and Trump with 232 electors. These are the default and official electors and will remain as such until a states' slate of electors is disqualified by a majority in both chambers
/9
3. The starting point of certified electors has Biden with 306 electors and Trump with 232 electors. These are the default and official electors and will remain as such until a states' slate of electors is disqualified by a majority in both chambers
/9
of Congress.
4. As of January 4th, 2021, at least 140 GOP Representatives and 12 GOP Senators plan to object to at least 1 state. That being said, enough GOP Senators have come out against contesting the electoral votes. This implies there will not be the requisite 50
/10
4. As of January 4th, 2021, at least 140 GOP Representatives and 12 GOP Senators plan to object to at least 1 state. That being said, enough GOP Senators have come out against contesting the electoral votes. This implies there will not be the requisite 50
/10
senators voting to object to any state. (Likewise with the Democrat majority House of Representatives, there is no indication that any states electors will successfully be disqualified).
5. Presuming the following six states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania
/11
5. Presuming the following six states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania
/11
& Wisconsin, will be objected to, that could delay the results by up to 12 hours. That said, if everything goes as expected (as explained in previous point), Vermont will put Biden over the top with 271 electoral votes ahead of the presumed objection for Wisconsin.
/12
/12
Sources (mostly direct government sources) for all of the above:
1. The 12th Ammendment which outlines the process of counting electoral votes: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CONAN-1992/pdf/GPO-CONAN-1992-10-13.pdf
2. Overview of the process from congress: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL32717/12
/13
1. The 12th Ammendment which outlines the process of counting electoral votes: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CONAN-1992/pdf/GPO-CONAN-1992-10-13.pdf
2. Overview of the process from congress: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL32717/12
/13
3. The agreed upon rules: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-concurrent-resolution/1/text
4. Timeline of the process: https://apnews.com/article/6f5b3099f98eaf4ba604abfa2ca5f78a
5. The objections that are coming: https://apnews.com/article/7ff6b30f2e2f25c0cc7e1d7420a0f058
/14
4. Timeline of the process: https://apnews.com/article/6f5b3099f98eaf4ba604abfa2ca5f78a
5. The objections that are coming: https://apnews.com/article/7ff6b30f2e2f25c0cc7e1d7420a0f058
/14
6. Georgia's Senate runoff details (specifically when winning Senators will be seated): https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-21-elections/ga-code-sect-21-2-493.html and https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_runoff_elections_in_Georgia_(January_5,_2021)#When_will_election_winners_be_sworn_in.3F
/15
/15
7. The order of roll call with expected electoral vote running total: http://bit.ly/P101538
/16
/16
