Congress will gather on Jan. 6 for a constitutionally mandated session to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory.
Congress will hold a joint session on Jan. 6 to count the Electoral College votes, marking the official certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and formalizing his return to the White House for a second term. This constitutionally mandated process, conducted every four years, ensures the peaceful transfer or continuation of power.
In this ceremonial event, Congress opens sealed certificates from each state documenting their electoral votes. Delivered in special mahogany boxes reserved for the occasion, these certificates are read aloud by bipartisan “tellers” from both chambers.
The vice president, acting as president of the Senate, presides over the session and announces the results.
The Electoral Count Act, revised in 2022, clarified the vice president’s role as strictly ceremonial, removing any ambiguity about their authority. The updated law ensures the vice president cannot alter or determine the results during the certification process.
If a tie were to occur, the House of Representatives would decide the presidency, with each state delegation casting one vote. However, this scenario, last seen in the 1800s, is not relevant this time, as Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by 312 to 226 Electoral College votes.
The Certification Process
During the joint session, the presiding officer opens and presents electoral vote certificates in alphabetical order by state. Bipartisan tellers from the House and Senate read each certificate aloud, recording and tallying the votes. Once all votes are counted, the presiding officer announces the winners of the majority votes for president and vice president.
Lawmakers may object to a state’s electoral votes after they are read, but objections are only considered if submitted in writing and signed by at least one-fifth of both House and Senate members. This higher threshold, established by the 2022 Electoral Count Act revision, aims to limit objections. Previously, an objection required support from just one senator and one representative.
If an objection meets the threshold, the joint session pauses, and the House and Senate debate the issue separately. Both chambers must approve the objection by a simple majority vote for it to succeed. If they do not agree, the original electoral votes remain unchanged.
By Tom Ozimek
