What happens between now and Inauguration Day

Americans who went to the polls on Election Day don't actually select the President directly.

They were technically voting for 538 electors who, according to the system laid out by the Constitution, will meet in their respective states and vote for President and Vice President once the popular vote totals are completely counted and certified.

Biden defeats Trump in an election he made about character of the nation and the President

These electors are collectively referred to as the Electoral College, and their votes will then be forwarded to the President of the Senate, who will count them in a joint session of Congress after the new year. (Here's a refresher on that.)

Americans have been refining this process since the election of 1800, which originally resulted in an Electoral College tie. The House of Representatives gave Thomas Jefferson the presidency and that first disputed election resulted in the 12th amendment, which modified the Electoral College process.

Later, in 1824, John Quincy Adams got to the White House despite not winning either the popular vote or a majority in the Electoral College.

In 1876, the results in several Southern states were disputed, and the lack of clear Electoral College results led to a deal in the House that gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency even though he won neither the Electoral College nor the popular vote. That ultimately begat the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which is still in effect today.

What happens after Election Day

We've sketched out the legal mechanisms that lead from Election Day to Inauguration Day. Next to each item below is an icon that denotes whether state laws () or federal laws () are relevant.

 

November 3 – Election Day

Voters voted, votes were counted.

While many millions of Americans cast their ballots in the weeks leading up to Election Day, either by mail or as an in-person absentee voter, US law says Election Day occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Votes were counted across the country on Election Day.

November 4 – November 23

Votes are counted.

Mail-in ballots had to be postmarked by November 3 in every US state, but they can be received late and still counted in many states. In most cases, they must be received within a day or two of Election Day. But in Washington state, mail-in ballots can be received as late as November 23 -- the day before the state certifies its election results. In the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania, mail-in votes can be received until November 6.

In the battlegrounds of Minnesota and Nevada, they can be received until November 10. And in Ohio, they can be received until November 13.

November 10 – December 11

States certify election results.

Each state does it a little bit differently, but starting a week after Election Day, state governments begin to certify their election results. Those deadlines can be changed in the event of a state recount if there is an extremely close result. Most of these dates occur in the last two weeks of November and all but California's are mandated to occur by December 8.

December 8

"Safe harbor" to determine election results and assign electors.

Under the Electoral Count Act, this is the date by which states are meant to have counted votes, settled disputes, and determined the winner of their electoral college votes. Governors are supposed to create certificates of ascertainment listing the winner of the election and the slate of electors. In 2000, the Supreme Court ended a targeted recount in Florida because it could not be completed by this safe harbor date. That recount would not have changed the outcome of the election, but a full statewide recount could have made Al Gore president. This is when it could become very important for Republicans that they control more state legislatures than Democrats, including in most of the contested 2020 battleground states.

December 14

Electoral votes cast.

In law this date is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year it falls on December 14. Six days after disputes are supposed to be settled, electors are supposed to meet in their respective states and cast votes for US President. They certify six sets of votes and send them to Washington. Many states have laws requiring their electors to support the winner of their state's election and can levy fines against faithless electors who go their own way.

December 23

Electoral votes must arrive in Washington.

The certified electoral votes have nine days to get from their states to Capitol Hill.

January 3

New Congress is sworn in.

Members of the House and new members of the Senate take the oath of office at noon. This is the official start of the 117th Congress.

January 6

Electoral votes counted.

Members of the House and the Senate all meet in the House chamber. The President of the Senate (that’s Vice President Mike Pence) presides over the session and the Electoral votes are read and counted in alphabetical order by two appointees each from the House and Senate. They then give their tallies to Pence, who announces the results and listens for objections.

If there are objections or if there are, somehow, multiple slates of electors put forward by a state, the House and Senate consider them separately to decide how to count those votes.

There are 538 electoral votes -- one for each congressman and senator plus three for Washington, DC. If no candidate gets 270, the 435 members of the House decide the election. Each state gets a vote. While there are more Democrats in the House, Republicans, as of now, control more state delegations, so it is very possible the House could pick Donald Trump even though there is a Democratic majority. It requires a majority of state votes to become President. The House has until noon on January 20 to pick the President. If they can't, it would be the vice president or the next person eligible in the line of presidential succession.

January 20

Inauguration Day.

A new president takes the oath of office at noon. If the President-elect dies between Election Day and Inauguration, the vice president-elect takes the oath of office and becomes President. In a disputed election, if the House has not chosen a President but the Senate has chosen a vice president, the vice president-elect becomes acting president until the House makes a choice. And if there's no president-elect and no vice president-elect, the House appoints a president until one is chosen.

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