On Saturday morning, the Associated Press, CNN, and NBC News announced Biden as the projected winner of the 2020 presidential race after getting more than 270 electoral votes.
Now that Joe Biden has won the presidency, bringing an end to four tumultuous years under President Donald Trump, there are more key steps to accomplish even after the selection of the 46th president of the United States.
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“When American citizens vote for a presidential candidate, they really are voting for electors in their state. Those electors in most cases are committed to support the voters’ candidate of choice,” wrote the Associated Press. “The number of electors is equal to the number of electoral votes held by each state. State laws vary on how electors are selected but, generally, a slate of electors for each party’s candidate is chosen at state party conventions or by a vote of a party’s central committee.”
Following Election Day, states must count and certify the results of the popular vote. Once completed, each governor by law must prepare documents known as “Certificates of Ascertainment,” which list the names of electors and the number of votes that were cast for both the winner and loser.
The document, which carries the seal of each state, is then sent to the archivist of the United States.
Dec. 8 is the deadline to resolve any election disputes that may exist at the state level and all state recounts and court contests over the results of the election are expected to be completed.
Dec. 14: Electors have to vote by paper ballot in their states and the District of Columbia. Thirty-three states and D.C. have laws in place or party regulations that requires the electors to “vote the same way the popular vote goes in the state, and in some states, electors can even be replaced or subjected to penalties, according to the Congressional Research Service.” The votes for both the president and vice president are then counted and the electors sign six “Certificate of the Vote” documents. The documents are then sent by registered mail to various officials.
Dec. 23: The certificates are then delivered to the designated officials. If they aren’t delivered, the law then provide an alternative route for getting the results delivered to Washington.
Jan. 6, 2021: The House and Senate then holds a joint session to count all of the electoral votes. If one ticket received 270 or more electoral votes, the current president of the Senate – Vice President Mike Pence – will announce the results.
Jan. 20, 2021: The new president-elect will be sworn into office on Inauguration Day.
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In the United States, a presidential candidate can win the popular vote, but lose the electoral vote like Hillary Clinton in 2016.
According to the Baltimore Sun, as of Saturday, Biden lead Trump by millions in the popular vote and ultimately in electoral votes, leading to his victory.
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