US election: What happens now

Joe Biden has been declared the winner but Donald Trump is not only yet to concede, he’s begun a series of legal challenges to the result. So what happens now?

Joe Biden has been declared the winner but Donald Trump is not only yet to concede, he’s begun a series of legal challenges to the result, which he says is not legitimate.

There are many ways this can play out and Americans are looking at three months of turmoil if Mr Trump continues to fight the vote up until his term ends on January 20 next year.

Several states either trigger recounts or allow campaigns to request them if they are tight enough. The margin varies from state to state but is usually less than a percentage point.

Team Trump say they will request a recount in Wisconsin and Georgia yesterday announced a recount that could take until the end of the month.

In terms of process, there are a number of votes and confirmations under the constitution which dictates the current presidency will end at noon on January 20, 2021.

The first is the December 8 deadline for the states to certify their electoral votes. These are supposed to follow party lines but there can be exceptions.

This certified vote is sent to the Senate before December 23 before the new Congress is sworn in on January 6. They gather to count electoral votes and declare the results, a winner being the candidate with 270 votes.

If there is no agreement before January 20 then Congress will vote to elect a president in the House of Representatives and a Vice President in the Senate.

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Originally published as US election: What happens now