What happened at the US Electoral College meeting on December 19th?

(Baonghean.vn) - December 19th, according to theIn the US, 538 people will meet to determine who will be the next president.land of the stars and stripes.

American voters record their expected number of electoral votes as the results of the popular vote are announced. Photo: Getty.

These Electoral College meetings were held in each state and the District of Columbia just six weeks after the November 8th election, which had long been largely a formality.

However, the victory of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who lost the popular vote but is likely to win a majority of the electoral votes, has once again brought the U.S. Electoral College into the spotlight. The conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia sought to interfere in the recent election to negatively impact Hillary Clinton's campaign has only further intensified this issue in recent days.

On December 16, President Obama described the Electoral College – which originated as a compromise between those who wanted Congress to choose the U.S. president and those who supported popular vote – as a “relic.”

Who are the electors?

In short, electors are individuals chosen by a state's political parties to vote for president and vice president. Electors can be party leaders or elected officials, and sometimes they are people with personal connections to the presidential candidate. For example, Bill Clinton is New York's elector this year.

The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of that state's representatives and senators in Congress – a total of 538, including three additional electors from the District of Columbia.

What will happen on December 19th?

The electors will meet in each state and cast two ballots: one for president and one for vice president.

They then prepare what are called “voting certificates,” and the results are then sent or mailed to Congress and the national archives, where they are filed in the official records of the United States.

Michael Madigan, an Illinois state elector in the 2008 election, fills out his electoral vote. Photo: AP.

DWhy should voters cast their ballots according to the will of the popular vote?

Not necessarily. At this point, at least one elector has declared they will “betray” their party and not vote for Trump. There is no provision in the Constitution or federal law that binds electors to vote in a specific way. Some state laws require them to vote according to the popular vote results in that state, while others are bound by less formal commitments to their party.

Under some state laws, so-called unfaithful electors who vote against the outcome of their state can be fined or even disqualified or replaced. No elector has ever been prosecuted for "betrayal," but in the past, most electors have voted in accordance with the outcome of the state they represent. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether the commitments and associated penalties are legal.

Ai kiCounting electoral votes?

On January 6, 2017, at 1 p.m., members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will meet in the House to count the votes. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., as outgoing Senate President, is scheduled to preside over the count, during which ballots from each state will be opened and announced in alphabetical order.

Then, Biden will announce the winner as the person with the majority of the vote – that is, at least 270 votes.

SilkIs that all?

Not exactly. At that point, Biden would ask if anyone objected, and lawmakers could question individual electoral votes or the overall outcome. If an elector chooses to vote against the state's result, that's when lawmakers could petition to invalidate that vote.

Objections must be in writing and signed by at least one member of the House of Representatives and one member of the Senate. If any objection is raised, the Senate and the House of Representatives will then immediately divide to consider it and have two hours to decide whether they support the objection.

Both houses would then reconvene and announce their decision; if both sides agreed on the objection, the questionable ballot would be discarded. But to date, Congress has never faced any objection to an electoral vote.

After any objections have been resolved, the result is considered final. The next step is for the winner to be sworn into office on January 20th.

Thu Giang

(According to the NYT)