Elcoral College: A strange twist this time
While we do not know who will be elected President and Vice President on November 5, 2024, this is how the National Archives say the ballots will be counted:
"Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes. The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results of the Electoral College vote. The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.
<;>If any objections to the electoral votes are made, they must be submitted in writing and be signed by at least one-fifth of the members of the House and one-fifth of the Senators. If objections are presented, the House and Senate withdraw to their respective chambers to consider the merits of the objection(s) under procedures set out in Federal law. Only two grounds for objection are acceptable: that the electors of the State were not lawfully certified under a Certificate of Ascertainment, or that the vote of one or more electors has not been regularly given.
If no Presidential candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes (a majority of the 538 available votes), under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution the House of Representatives decides the Presidential election. If necessary, the House would elect the President by majority vote, choosing from among the three candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by State, with each State having one vote. (The District of Columbia does not vote because it doesn’t have voting members in the House of Representatives.)
If no Vice Presidential candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes (a majority or the 538 available votes), under the 12th Amendment the Senate elects the Vice President. If necessary, the Senate would elect the Vice President by majority vote, choosing between the two candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. Each Senator would have one vote."
Pretty dull stuff. Right? But wait, the person presiding over the counting of the Electoral College ballots will be none other than Vice President and possibly President-Elect Kamala Harris!
Bear in mind it is not unusual for some States to have rival Electoral College Delegations, each claiming to be tlegitimate and the other delegation to be illegitimate. That was the case On January 6, 2021. But the disturbance outside the House Chamber (riot if you will) rattled VP Pence and he made a mess out of the proceedings which did not conclude nil the wee hours of the following morning while the nation slept.
Unlike former Speaker Nancy Pelosi who failed, despite the urgings of then President Trump, to provide adequate police protection for the Capitol, we can hope whoever is the Speaker on January 6, 2025 will have more than adequate law enforcement in place and thus prevent another January 6, 2021 fiasco.
Given the heated atmosphere that attends this election, it is likely rival Electoral College Delegations will present themselves before Congress each asking to be recognized as valid as perhaps never before, the world will be watching to see if America can regain its reputation for the peaceful transfer of political power.
©2024. William Hamilton.
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