How the Election Winner Becomes President and Where it Could Go Awry

The Washington Post / Derek Hawkins, Artur Galocha

16:11 JST, October 20, 2024

Every presidential election revolves around the casting of votes. But this is just one step in a chain of events that ends months later with the winner’s inauguration and ascent into the White House. Between Election Day and Jan. 20, the results from roughly 10,000 election jurisdictions are checked and rechecked, certified by local and state officials, then sent to Washington for final affirmation.

The vast majority of U.S. elections have involved a peaceful and orderly transfer of power, making much of this post-election process feel like a formality. But Donald Trump attacked it at virtually every level as he tried to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. He has signaled his intent to contest the result again if he loses to Vice President Kamala Harris this fall.

Here’s a look at how the post-election process works, along with some vulnerabilities that arose during Trump’s attempt to reverse his loss four years ago.

The Canvass

Nov. 5 through early December

Once polls close on election night, election officials begin a process known as the canvass. This is the official vote count. It’s different from the unofficial precinct-level results that are reported on election night and used by news organizations to project the winner. The canvass involves a more rigorous vetting and confirmation of the results, and can take days or weeks depending on the state.

As part of the canvass, election officials perform a series of checks to ensure that only valid votes have been counted and that the totals are correct. One of the most important checks is “reconciliation,” which involves comparing the number of votes cast to the number of people who were recorded as having voted. Officials also conduct audits or statistical recounts of a sampling of ballots to verify the outcome. Any discrepancies are investigated.

– Vulnerabilities

The longer it takes to determine a state’s final result, the more opportunities there are for disruptions. In 2020, Trump and his allies seized on the prolonged counting of mail ballots in Pennsylvania, falsely claiming victory while millions of votes were still being processed.

– Safeguards

The canvass is publicly observable and carried out by bipartisan teams of election officials who work on tight deadlines to complete the process. In the 2020 election, officials finished the canvass on time, even after receiving record numbers of mail-in ballots and working under pandemic public health restrictions.

Certification

No later than Dec. 11

Once the canvass is complete, the results are certified. Certification is a stamp of approval that the results were added up correctly and the election was conducted according to state law. Like the canvass, deadlines for certification vary by state.

Certifiers’ duties are limited. Their job involves little more than making sure the tally is mathematically correct and that the canvass was carried out properly. Candidates can still contest certified election results in court – in fact, some states don’t allow such lawsuits to be filed until certification is complete. But certifiers aren’t allowed to block certification because they don’t like the outcome. Nor can they refuse to certify over technical issues that are addressed at the canvassing stage.

– Vulnerabilities

Since 2020, county-level election officials in five swing states have tried to block certification in primaries or general elections. Election experts say they expect to see more refusals to certify results this year, potentially causing civil unrest or violence.

– Safeguards

So far, no refusal to certify has succeeded due in large part to strict state rules limiting certifiers’ powers. Courts can step in to order certification, and certifiers who refuse to do their job can, in some states, be removed or even criminally prosecuted.

Electors named

Dec. 11

In the United States, the president is not elected by the popular vote but in a system known as the electoral college. Each state has a set number of electoral votes based on how many members it has in Congress. The candidate who wins a majority of the nation’s 538 electoral votes wins the presidency.

No later than Dec. 11, states issue official paperwork identifying the electors who represent the candidate who won the state’s popular vote. Electors are typically state elected officials or party insiders selected by the campaigns or partisan committees. They cast the state’s electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska, electors are appointed by congressional district, meaning those states can split their electoral votes.

A copy of this document is sent to the head of the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington.

– Vulnerabilities

In 2020, Trump and his allies pressured state officials to support pro-Trump slates of electors in states he lost to Biden. Republicans in several battleground states submitted official paperwork falsely claiming Trump won.

– Safeguards

The Electoral Count Reform Act passed by Congress in 2022 created safeguards to prevent fraudulent challenges to electors.

Trump and other Republicans who participated in the effort to replace electors with Trump supporters were indicted in multiple states on conspiracy charges and other counts. Trump and many other defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Electors meet

Dec. 17

Electors meet in their states to cast their electoral college votes for president and vice president. The results are sent to Washington. In some previous elections, a small number of electors have attempted to cast their votes for someone other than the winner, but it has never been enough to change the outcome. Most states have laws designed to deter such “faithless electors.”

Electoral votes are received in Washington

Dec. 25

All electoral votes must be in the hands of the president of the Senate and the head of the National Archives no later than Christmas Day. The president of the Senate is the vice president, meaning Harris will preside over her own victory or loss.

Congress counts the electoral votes

Jan. 6

The new Congress, seated at the beginning of the month, meets in a joint session and counts the electoral votes. The vice president presides. The winner is announced.

– Vulnerabilities

In 2021, Trump supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol, disrupting the counting of electoral votes and demanding that Vice President Mike Pence reject the results. Trump criticized Pence’s decision on Twitter and did not tell his supporters to go home for hours. During the proceedings, 147 congressional Republicans voted to overturn Biden’s victory.

– Safeguards

Federal law enforcement officials say they will dramatically increase security around the Capitol to prevent another Jan. 6-style attack.

The Electoral Count Reform Act makes it harder for House and Senate lawmakers to object to a state’s certified results. Additionally, the law clarified that the vice president’s role in counting electoral votes is purely ministerial, meaning the vice president has no power to unilaterally reject electoral votes.

Inauguration Day

Jan. 20

The new president and vice president are sworn in.