How Congress Will Certify Trump’s Electoral College Victory

WASHINGTON — The upcoming congressional joint session on Monday to tally electoral votes is anticipated to be far less dramatic than the certification process four years ago, which was disrupted by a violent mob of supporters for then-President Donald Trump. They attempted to halt the count and overturn the results of an election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

This time around, Trump is set to reclaim the presidency after winning the 2024 election, which began with Biden as the nominee for his party and concluded with Vice President Kamala Harris leading the ticket. Harris will oversee the certification of her own defeat, fulfilling her constitutional duty, much like Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, did after the chaos subsided on January 6, 2021.

Typically, the congressional joint session held every four years on January 6 is a straightforward process that serves as the final affirmation of a presidential election following the Electoral College’s official vote in December. This meeting is mandated by the Constitution and involves several distinct procedures.

Here’s a closer look at what the joint session entails:

According to federal law, Congress is required to convene on January 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that document their electoral votes. These votes are presented in specially designated mahogany boxes for the session.

Bipartisan representatives from both chambers will read the results aloud and conduct an official count. The vice president, who serves as the president of the Senate, presides over the session and announces the winner.

The Constitution mandates that Congress meet to count the electoral votes. In the event of a tie, the House of Representatives would determine the presidency, with each congressional delegation casting one vote. However, such a scenario hasn’t occurred since the 1800s, and it is unlikely to arise this time, given Trump’s decisive electoral victory over Harris, 312-226.

What has changed since the last session?

In the wake of the 2021 violence and Trump’s attempts to undermine the process, Congress has tightened certification rules.

Notably, the revised Electoral Count Act, passed in 2022, provides a clearer definition of the vice president’s role. This change came after Trump pressured Pence to contest the election results—an act that would have exceeded Pence’s ceremonial obligations. Pence ultimately resisted Trump’s demands and acknowledged his own defeat. Harris will similarly fulfill her role.

The updated legislation specifies that the vice president lacks the authority to alter the results on January 6.

Harris and Pence are not the first vice presidents to find themselves in the awkward position of presiding over their own electoral losses. In 2001, Vice President Al Gore oversaw the counting of the 2000 presidential election, which he narrowly lost to Republican George W. Bush. Gore had to dismiss several objections from fellow Democrats.

In 2017, Biden, as vice president, presided over the session that confirmed Trump’s victory. Biden also rejected objections from House Democrats that lacked Senate backing.

How will the session proceed?

The presiding officer will initiate the session and present the electoral vote certificates in alphabetical order by state.

Designated tellers from both the House and Senate, representing both parties, will read each certificate aloud, recording and tallying the votes. At the conclusion, the presiding officer will announce the candidates who have received the majority of votes for both president and vice president.

What happens if there’s an objection?

Once a teller has read the certificate for any state, a lawmaker has the option to stand up and object to that state’s votes based on any grounds. However, for the objection to be considered, it must be submitted in writing and signed by one-fifth of each chamber.

This requirement imposes a higher threshold than before; previously, only one member from each chamber was needed to support an objection. The 2022 law raised the bar to make objections more challenging.

If any objection meets the threshold—which is not anticipated this time—the joint session would pause, and the House and Senate would separate to deliberate on it. For the objection to succeed, both chambers must approve it with a simple majority vote. If they do not agree, the original electoral votes will be counted without alteration.

In 2021, both chambers dismissed challenges to the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Before 2021, the last significant objection was raised in 2005, when Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats, objected to Ohio’s electoral votes, citing voting irregular