What month are the electoral votes counted?

Since the mid-20th century, Congress has met in a Joint Session every four years on January 6 at 1:00 p.m. to tally votes in the Electoral College. The sitting Vice President presides over the meeting and opens the votes from each state in alphabetical order.

When and where does the Electoral College meet?

December 14, 2020: Electors Vote in Their States

In 2020, the meeting is on December 14. Electoral college delegations meet separately in their respective states and the District of Columbia at places designated by their state legislature.

Where and when do Electoral College state electors vote?

The electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December to cast their votes.

What day does Congress certify the Electoral College votes for presidents?

January 6, 2021—Congress counts the electoral votes

The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.

Does the Electoral College have to vote with the popular vote?

There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote.

What are the 3 requirements to be Potus?

Requirements to Hold Office

According to Article II of the U.S. Constitution, the president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for 14 years.

How many Electoral College votes does it take to win?

A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your State has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators.

How many Electoral College votes are needed to win the presidency?

How many electoral votes are necessary to win the presidential election? 270. In order to become president, a candidate must win more than half of the votes in the Electoral College.

What happens if no candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the Presidential election leaves the Electoral College process and moves to Congress. The House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes.

How many electors does each state get?

Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.

How are electoral votes determined?

The formula for determining the number of votes for each state is simple: each state gets two votes for its two US Senators, and then one more additional vote for each member it has in the House of Representatives.

How many electoral votes does Arizona 2020?

Electoral College Certificates and Votes by State
StateNumber of Electoral Votes for Each StateFor Vice-President
Kamala D. Harris, of California
Alabama9
Alaska3
Arizona1111

How many people are in the Electoral College?

When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College.

How does the popular vote affect the Electoral College?

When citizens cast their ballots for president in the popular vote, they elect a slate of electors. Electors then cast the votes that decide who becomes president of the United States. Usually, electoral votes align with the popular vote in an election.

Is Texas a Republican state?

Texas remains a majority Republican state as of 2022, with Republicans controlling every statewide office having Republican majorities in the State House and Senate, an entirely Republican Texas Supreme Court, and having two Republican Senators in US Congress.

Who chooses the president in a tie?

Presidential election

If no candidate for president receives an absolute majority of the electoral votes, pursuant to the 12th Amendment, the House of Representatives must go into session immediately to choose a president from among the three candidates who received the most electoral votes.

Why do we use Electoral College instead of popular vote?

The Electoral College

As prescribed in the U.S. Constitution, American presidents are elected not directly by the people, but by the people’s electors. The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress.

What are the swing states?

Areas considered battlegrounds in the 2020 election were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine’s 2nd congressional district, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, with Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and …

Was there ever a third party President?

Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States (1850-1853) and the last President not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties.

What are 3 flaws in the Electoral College process?

Three criticisms of the College are made: It is “undemocratic;” It permits the election of a candidate who does not win the most votes; and. Its winner-takes-all approach cancels the votes of the losing candidates in each state.

Why are swing states so important?

These “swing states” have populations that are closely divided politically. They have swung back and forth between Democratic and Republican candidates in recent years. They are the battleground states that candidates will target with campaign visits, advertising and staffing.

Is Pennsylvania a blue state?

Pennsylvania has swung from being a Republican-leaning state during much of the 20th century to being a notable battleground state in presidential elections. Pennsylvania backed the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1992 up until 2016, when it was won by Republican candidate Donald Trump.