There is no doubt about the outcome – Congress will ratify Joe Biden’s electoral victory and he will take the oath on January 20 – but that will not stop today’s political theater, which can drag on until late at night.
- Here is our guide to attend the certification debate, with input from legislative advisers, historians, election experts and Ursula Perano, from Axios.
Details: The House of Representatives and the Senate will meet in a joint session in the House at 1 pm ET to officially count and certify the 538 electoral votes ratified in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Expect objections (in alphabetical order) from members in both chambers to the results of Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. There may be other objections raised, but to be debated, they must be raised in both chambers.
- Republican senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and Josh Hawley of Missouri will be among the opponents to watch.
- House minority leader Kevin McCarthy will designate Representative Jim Jordan as the Republicans ‘time manager during the debate, a source familiar with the process told Axios’ Kadia Goba.
- Nothing prevents President Trump from tweeting the proceedings live – and he has called his supporters to the nation’s capital for protests.
Why it matters: The debate will not change the results of the elections. There are more than enough Republican senators and members of the House who have indicated that they will recognize state certified votes to guarantee a majority vote to reject objections.
- But it will undermine the confidence of many Americans in their democracy and de-legitimize Biden’s presidency in the eyes of voters aligned with Trump. It will also draw battle lines for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential primaries.
- It could also test the potential for future alliances between Biden and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, for example. Margaret Talev of Axios – if McConnell determines that Democrats can help him manage that breakaway flank of his own party.
How it works: Vice President Mike Pence will serve as President. If he decides to delegate the job, which is not expected, it would be up to Senator Chuck Grassley as president pro tempore.
Trump has I’ve been pressing Pence to nullify the election results, but that is not within Pence’s ceremonial powers.
- The pages will feature mahogany ceremonial boxes filled with votes from the states, which are placed in front of the chamber. Next, Pence will present the electoral vote certificates in alphabetical order.
- He will deliver each envelope to one of the four tellers – who will be the members of the ranking and the minority on the Senate Rules and House Administration Committees. They will open the envelopes and read the vote totals.
- Pence will start with Alabama and end with Wyoming, declaring that each state’s certificate “appears to be regular and authentic”.
- It has the power to recognize any legislator who opposes it.
- Any member can stand up and oppose. If written and signed by a member of the House and a member of the Senate, the Senate leaves the House and marches back to the Senate House for debate.
- Each chamber debates each objection separately, with a two-hour limit, and votes on the challenge. Then, the Senate rejoins the Chamber and the results of the votes are announced.
- After the vote, they will move on to the next state and begin the process again.
- Once all votes are registered and counted, Pence will announce whether Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have received the required majority of votes. In that case, the announcement will be considered “a sufficient statement”.
Timing: The process is expected to continue until Wednesday night and may extend until Thursday, depending on how long lawmakers want to prolong the objection process.
Go deeper: Read the Congressional Research Service guide to count the votes