US election: Does it matter if there is no Donald Trump concession?
Has Joe Biden officially won the election?
HAS JOE BIDEN OFFICIALLY WON THE ELECTION?
The outcome has been called by news agencies and TV networks based on analysis of incomplete results, in line with a tradition that has no legal force.
What happens next?
Recounts are expected in at least Georgia and Wisconsin, and there could be legal challenges as final votes are counted.
The deadline for resolving legal disputes is December 8.
The outcome is not official until each state certifies the count according to its processes and deadlines, which vary from November 5 (Delaware) until December 11 (California). The state certificates list electors for the winning candidate according to the number of votes each state has in the electoral college.
WILL BIDEN LEGALLY BE PRESIDENT AFTER STATE CERTIFICATION?
No. The US constitution sets the Monday after the second Wednesday in December (this year, December 14) for the formal vote in each state of the electors.
CAN STATES IGNORE THE VOTE AND APPOINT ELECTORS AS THEY SEE FIT?
Possibly. There have been claims a Republican legislature in a state that voted for Biden could instead name electors for Donald Trump. The slates were chosen before election day so voters were technically choosing which one to send to congress. A state legislature could claim a win for Biden was invalid because it was corrupt and name the slate of Trump electors. The Biden slate would claim the backing of voters, leaving congress to decide.
HAS THIS HAPPENED?
Sometimes “faithless electors” do not back the candidate chosen by the electorate but never enough to sway the outcome.
IS THAT THE FINAL STEP?
Congress meets on January 6 in a joint session presided over by the vice-president to count electoral votes from the states. Individual members may object to a state’s results, in which case the two houses separate and debate the question in their chamber for up to two hours. The two houses then vote separately to accept or reject the objection. Both must approve a rejection for it to stand. The vice-president announces the results, which “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons, if any, elected president and vice-president”.
WHEN IS THE PRESIDENT SWORN IN?
January 20, 2021.
The Times
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