The 2020 presidential election is here and ongoing albeit not smoothly as the two major candidates and their immediate and remote supporters are busy advancing different opinions about the ongoing process.
President Donald Trump, citing electoral irregularities and electoral fraud by those he called big media mafia, is refusing to preliminarily concede to former Vice President Joe Biden who the election was unofficially called for by the big media houses.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on the other hand with a belief that he will eventually become, has been moving and doing things around as the president-elect.
While President Donald Trump is already in several courts to challenge the alleged election irregularities, former Vice President Joe Biden has set up Transition Committee but cannot do anything tangible as the process can only, according to the Presidential Transition Act, formally begin after the General Service Administration (GSA) has confirmed the winner and that is yet to happen.
In its official release, the position of the GSA was that "an ascertainment has not yet been made. GSA and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law.”, meaning there is no president-elect yet and no official transition process in place.
The US presidential election is of a long process or and not-too long one. I shall itemize important dates, action plans for those dates and their possible outcomes until the 20th January swearing-in date.
6th November (Tuesday next after first Monday in November)
The American voters will in person or mail-in ballots cast votes to elect electoral college members (electors), who will in turn vote during the electoral college meeting for a presidential candidate confirmed to have won those states as a pledge.
8th December (six days before the electoral college members meeting)
Last day for all state to settle electoral college disputes and determine its electoral college electors as stipulated by a federal law code-named the “safe harbor provision”
Any dispute at a state level not resolved by 8th December, the Federal Supreme Court shall rule to settle the ballot certification/confirmation and state pledge logjam before the 14th December electoral college members meeting voting day,
14th December (appointed day in December before fourth Wednesday of December)
The electoral college members (electors) elected by US voters on the 3rd November in the 50 states and the District of Columbia meet in person to cast pledged vote for a presidential candidate confirmed to have won their states.
If during the electoral college voting on December 14th, a faithless elector (electoral college member) decides to cast his or her vote for a different presidential candidate apart from one confirmed to have won and pledged to by the state; such votes can be disregarded by the state or and such elector be penalized and or replaced by the different state laws of 33 states and the District of Columbia (except Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and 15 others) mandating electoral college members to cast ballots for a pledged candidate.
23rd December (fourth Wednesday in December)
States shall deliver certified electoral college results to the Vice President (serving as Senate President) and other parties.
Should there be any dispute whatsoever in any state over the election winner in such state, or any disagreement in any state about how to handle their faithless elector and such state misses the 23rd December deadline, the Vice President or the Archivist of the United States shall compel the Secretary of State or equivalent officer of that state to send the certified election results to Congress, using direct mail, or send a messenger to a federal judge in the state in question, if the judge has the certified election results.
6th January.
According to Article I, Section 1 of the 12th Amendment, a joint session of Congress shall at 1 p.m under the leadership of the Vice President (as the President of the Senate), count the electoral votes from each states.
If the results from each state are counted but the final score objected to by any member of the Congress and such objection is supported by at least one member of each house of Congress, the House and Senate shall then in accordance with the Electoral Count Act of 1887, adjourn for up to one hour to hold separate debates and vote on the objection in their different chambers; if both chambers agree to uphold the objection, the objected votes are then excluded from the total election; and provided the excluded electoral votes would not result in a candidate not having the majority of electoral votes of 270, the Congress shall then officially declare the winner of the presidential election as president-elect and he/she shall alongside his/her vice take oaths of offices as the next president and vice president of USA, noon of 20th January.
Should by chance, a state’s or some states' electoral votes excluded result in a candidate not having the majority of electoral votes of 270, then there shall, in accordance with the 12th Amendment, at a time before 12 p.m. on 20th January be either a run-off between the two leading candidates or a contingent election to select the president in the House and another in the Senate to select a vice president. The Congress shall then officially declare the winners of the presidential and vice presidential contingent elections as president-elect and vice president-elect and shall take their oaths of offices as the next president and vice president of USA, noon of 20th January.
Should there be any occurrence of a president-elect and vice president-elect not emerging through either a run-off or contingent elections, the Speaker of the House shall serve as president until such time the Congress certifies a winner of the presidential election and he/she shall alongside his/her vice take oaths of offices as the next president and vice president of USA.
As the electoral journey continues and days get on one by one, the official unveiling of the election winner will eventually happen and congratulatory and goodwill messages will start pouring in from leaders of nations and global corporations to felicitate with the winners and the US of a.
Akinloye NG is a Legislative Expert and Public Affairs Analyst.
The 2020 presidential election is here and ongoing albeit not smoothly as the two major candidates and their immediate and remote supporters are busy advancing different opinions about the ongoing process.
President Donald Trump, citing electoral irregularities and electoral fraud by those he called big media mafia, is refusing to preliminarily concede to former Vice President Joe Biden who the election was unofficially called for by the big media houses.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on the other hand with a belief that he will eventually become, has been moving and doing things around as the president-elect.
While President Donald Trump is already in several courts to challenge the alleged election irregularities, former Vice President Joe Biden has set up Transition Committee but cannot do anything tangible as the process can only, according to the Presidential Transition Act, formally begin after the General Service Administration (GSA) has confirmed the winner and that is yet to happen.
In its official release, the position of the GSA was that "an ascertainment has not yet been made. GSA and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law.”, meaning there is no president-elect yet and no official transition process in place.
The US presidential election is of a long process or and not-too long one. I shall itemize important dates, action plans for those dates and their possible outcomes until the 20th January swearing-in date.
6th November (Tuesday next after first Monday in November)
The American voters will in person or mail-in ballots cast votes to elect electoral college members (electors), who will in turn vote during the electoral college meeting for a presidential candidate confirmed to have won those states as a pledge.
8th December (six days before the electoral college members meeting)
Last day for all state to settle electoral college disputes and determine its electoral college electors as stipulated by a federal law code-named the “safe harbor provision”
Any dispute at a state level not resolved by 8th December, the Federal Supreme Court shall rule to settle the ballot certification/confirmation and state pledge logjam before the 14th December electoral college members meeting voting day,
14th December (appointed day in December before fourth Wednesday of December)
The electoral college members (electors) elected by US voters on the 3rd November in the 50 states and the District of Columbia meet in person to cast pledged vote for a presidential candidate confirmed to have won their states.
If during the electoral college voting on December 14th, a faithless elector (electoral college member) decides to cast his or her vote for a different presidential candidate apart from one confirmed to have won and pledged to by the state; such votes can be disregarded by the state or and such elector be penalized and or replaced by the different state laws of 33 states and the District of Columbia (except Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and 15 others) mandating electoral college members to cast ballots for a pledged candidate.
23rd December (fourth Wednesday in December)
States shall deliver certified electoral college results to the Vice President (serving as Senate President) and other parties.
Should there be any dispute whatsoever in any state over the election winner in such state, or any disagreement in any state about how to handle their faithless elector and such state misses the 23rd December deadline, the Vice President or the Archivist of the United States shall compel the Secretary of State or equivalent officer of that state to send the certified election results to Congress, using direct mail, or send a messenger to a federal judge in the state in question, if the judge has the certified election results.
6th January.
According to Article I, Section 1 of the 12th Amendment, a joint session of Congress shall at 1 p.m under the leadership of the Vice President (as the President of the Senate), count the electoral votes from each states.
If the results from each state are counted but the final score objected to by any member of the Congress and such objection is supported by at least one member of each house of Congress, the House and Senate shall then in accordance with the Electoral Count Act of 1887, adjourn for up to one hour to hold separate debates and vote on the objection in their different chambers; if both chambers agree to uphold the objection, the objected votes are then excluded from the total election; and provided the excluded electoral votes would not result in a candidate not having the majority of electoral votes of 270, the Congress shall then officially declare the winner of the presidential election as president-elect and he/she shall alongside his/her vice take oaths of offices as the next president and vice president of USA, noon of 20th January.
Should by chance, a state’s or some states' electoral votes excluded result in a candidate not having the majority of electoral votes of 270, then there shall, in accordance with the 12th Amendment, at a time before 12 p.m. on 20th January be either a run-off between the two leading candidates or a contingent election to select the president in the House and another in the Senate to select a vice president. The Congress shall then officially declare the winners of the presidential and vice presidential contingent elections as president-elect and vice president-elect and shall take their oaths of offices as the next president and vice president of USA, noon of 20th January.
Should there be any occurrence of a president-elect and vice president-elect not emerging through either a run-off or contingent elections, the Speaker of the House shall serve as president until such time the Congress certifies a winner of the presidential election and he/she shall alongside his/her vice take oaths of offices as the next president and vice president of USA.
As the electoral journey continues and days get on one by one, the official unveiling of the election winner will eventually happen and congratulatory and goodwill messages will start pouring in from leaders of nations and global corporations to felicitate with the winners and the US of a.
Akinloye NG is a Legislative Expert and Public Affairs Analyst.
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