{"id":22080,"date":"2020-09-15T05:21:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T05:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=22080"},"modified":"2020-09-17T14:27:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T14:27:56","slug":"who-formally-declares-the-winner-of-the-u-s-presidential-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/who-formally-declares-the-winner-of-the-u-s-presidential-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Who formally declares the winner of the U.S. presidential election?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amy Dacey<\/a>, American University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With the U.S. presidential election<\/a> rapidly approaching at a time of extraordinary political and social disruption, the possibility of an unclear or contested result is coming under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Unlike many other countries, where the president or prime minister is chosen by direct popular vote, in the U.S., a candidate may win the popular vote and still not be elected to the nation\u2019s highest office<\/a>. The U.S. also differs from most other democracies in that it has no independent electoral commission to certify the final vote count.<\/p>\n

So who actually confirms the winner?<\/p>\n

Step #1: Before Election Day<\/h2>\n

American democracy has many elected officials \u2013 state, local and national \u2013 and many processes for getting into office.<\/p>\n

I have been working on election campaigns since I was eight years old, when my dad ran for school board and I went door to door asking people to vote for him. I\u2019ve also worked on local, congressional, senate and presidential races and now direct an academic research center on politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s striking is that every race is different, from deadlines and filing process to certification. Here, I\u2019ll focus here on the presidential race.<\/p>\n

The unusual and complicated presidential election certification process in the U.S. entwines all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Senate, House of Representatives, the National Archives and the Office of the Federal Register. It also involves the Electoral College<\/a> \u2013 a uniquely American institution that convenes in 51 separate locations once every four years to pick the president.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Certified presidential election results are stored in perpetuity at the National Archives.<\/span>
\nUpstateNYer via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This four-month process was custom designed as a compromise by the Founding Fathers, who did not believe the American people should directly choose the president and vice president<\/a> but did not want to give Congress the power of selection, either.<\/p>\n

The Constitution declares that American presidential elections occur on the first Tuesday in November, every four years. But the federal election process actually begins in October, when the Archivist of the United States<\/a> \u2013 a presidential appointee responsible for maintaining the government\u2019s most important official documents \u2013 sends a letter to the governor of each state.<\/p>\n

The document outlines their responsibilities regarding the Electoral College, which is not a place but a process<\/a> by which electors \u2013 people who are chosen by their party<\/a> \u2013 vote for their party\u2019s presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

The machinery of the Electoral College is complicated<\/a>, but in short Americans vote for electors and the electors vote for the president. Then, the winner is declared \u2013 right?<\/p>\n

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\nRead more:
\nHow is the American President elected?<\/a>
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Step #2: After Election Day<\/h2>\n

Not quite.<\/p>\n

Once a final tally of voters\u2019 in-person, mail-in and provisional ballots has been concluded, all 50 governors prepare their state\u2019s Certificate of Ascertainment<\/a>, a document listing their electors for the competing candidates.<\/p>\n

Each state completes that process at its own rate. This year, because of the pandemic, finalizing the electoral vote count will likely take a lot longer. Once completed, copies of the Certificate of Ascertainment are then submitted to the U.S. Archivist.<\/p>\n

After the governor submits names to the Archivist, each state\u2019s Electoral College electors meet in the state capital \u2013 D.C.\u2018s meet in D.C. \u2013 to formally cast their votes for president and vice president on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year, that\u2019s Dec. 14, 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In ways that vary state by state, each state\u2019s electors then prepares six Certificates of Vote, which are sent by registered mail to the President of the U.S. Senate and the Archivist of the United States. The remaining four certificates are sent to state officials.<\/p>\n

That fulfills the Electoral College\u2019s duties until the next presidential election<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Electors<\/a>
Colorado members of the Electoral College sign their Certificate of Vote, Dec.19, 2016, in Denver.<\/span>
\nJoe Amon\/The Denver Post via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Step #3: Congress meets<\/h2>\n

On Jan. 6, Congress convenes to count the electoral votes<\/a> and certify the winner of the election.<\/p>\n

Because the sitting vice president also serves as president of the Senate, Mike Pence will preside over this count in 2021, just as Vice President Joe Biden did in January 2017<\/a> when Donald Trump officially became president-elect. Each state, called upon in alphabetical order, files its votes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This process is in some respects ceremonial, because by January the media has declared a winner and usually a concession speech has been given. But, officially, it is the moment of truth.<\/p>\n

At the end of the Senate\u2019s electoral vote count, the vice president announces the results and asks if there are any objections<\/a>. In 2001 Democratic House representatives tried for 20 minutes to block<\/a> Florida\u2019s highly contested electoral votes for George W. Bush.<\/p>\n