Key dates to look forward after Joe Biden wins US presidential election

Former Vice President on November 7 passed the 270 electoral college threshold needed to claim victory in the 2020 presidential election, making him president-elect of the United States and Senator Kamala Harris vice president- elect.

But there are still several steps in the electoral process before President Donald Trump’s presidency ends on January 20 and Biden takes office.

Let’s take a look at the key dates leading up Biden becoming the 46th President of the US.

December 8

News organisations typically project who has won the election shortly after polls right after Election Day.

However, this year, those projections took several days, primarily, due to an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots cast amid the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

At this particular situation, news organisations using a variety of factors, determine that one candidate no longer has a path to victory. Official counting continues for several days, and sometimes weeks, after a winner is projected. These tallies are subject to legal challenges and recounts, the criteria and timeline of which are regulated under individual states’ laws.

Regardless of state’s laws regarding recounts, the state must meet the deadline. December 8 is the deadline- to appoint the electors who will decide the winner based on a certified final count.

It is in this scenario Trump has not conceded and his campaign has vowed to challenge the election results in certain states.

December 14

On December 14, electors across the country cast their votes by paper ballots in their respective states and the District of Columbia, which has three electoral votes. Those results must be delivered to the US capital and other relevant officials by December 23.

There are 538 electoral votes, and the number of votes in each state matches how many senator and representatives that state has in Congress .

Washington, DC also has three electoral votes. In most states, all electoral votes are given to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state, although this is not necessarily required by law.

Two states – Maine and Nebraska – have slightly different systems: Two electors vote for the candidate that wins the state’s overall popular vote, while a third elector votes based on which candidate wins the most Congressional districts in that state.

Currently, 33 states and Washington, DC, have laws that require electors to vote for the candidate that wins the popular vote in their state.

January 6

The House and Senate hold a joint session to count the votes sent by electors across the country . If one ticket has received 270 or more electoral votes, the president of the Senate, currently Vice President Mike Pence, will announce the winner of the election.

If there is any objection to electoral returns from any state, the Memebers of Congress can express their objections by writing by at least one member of the House and one in the Senate.

If neither presidential candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes, the House decides the election, based on the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. If required, the House would elect the president through a majority vote.

January 20
President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office at noon on Inauguration Day. Vice- President elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in shortly before that.