From the decision in the states, through the Congress to the solemn ceremony on Capitol Hill • In which case are votes disqualified?
What happens if no candidate wins a majority?
• The chain of events after Election Day
Early voting in Iowa, yesterday
Photography:
AP
The US presidential election is actually conducted in two stages. Today the people will choose which party to give the electors to in each country; then the electors who won the president himself will be elected.
The election period for the electors, which started yesterday (Sunday), will last until December 14.
After the counting of votes in each state and the end of the appeal or re-counting phase (assuming such), states must officially declare which list of electors has won: the list submitted by Democratic candidate Joe Biden, or that of Republican candidate Donald Trump (in Maine and Nebraska the electors are The winner in each district, and not the winner in the state).
Photo: Reuters
On December 14, after all the states have already decided which electors from which party represented it, the electors convene and vote for the president and vice president.
Every election of electors gathers in the capital of the country where they won and it is in fact the official election day.
There are usually no dramas - because the electors of a particular country are identified with the party of the candidate who won in that country and will therefore vote for him at the convention.
Also, in some states the electors have a legal obligation to vote for the candidate with whom they are identified, although in practice they may rebel and risk a fine or even imprisonment.
On January 6, the new Congress convenes and counts the votes of the electors sent.
Congress may decide to disqualify votes if it finds that electors who have not received approval to do so have sent their votes.
Thus, for example, in the event that Democratic voters cast their ballots even though the Republican candidate is the one who won the state election.
It should be noted, however, that Congress may also decide to accept these votes.
Archive photo: Reuters
If at the end of the electoral roll it turns out that no candidate has won a majority, i.e. at least 270 electors, the House of Representatives must vote for the President in a special election procedure in which each state is entitled to one vote, regardless of the number of deputies it has in the House.
The Senate then has to elect a vice president.
At noon on January 20, 2021, the swearing-in ceremony of the next president will be held at Capitol Hill in Washington.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the President must say upon swearing in the words: "I solemnly swear that I will faithfully fulfill the role of President of the United States, and that I will do my best to preserve and defend the United States Constitution."