Period of time between Election Night and Inauguration – 79 days known as the interregnum
3 Nov 20 – election day
The Tuesday after the first Monday in November
On election day, Americans do not just vote for president but also many state and local level positions too — everything from a senator to the local sheriff
35 days are alloted for counting to be completed and any attendant challenges to be resolved
The tradition to concede soon after the winner becomes evident dates back over 100 years.
However, it is a tradition and not a necessity. In 2000, presidential candidate, Al Gore, conceded on the night but then withdrew his concession as recounts continued in Florida
The election that year was held on the 7 November but George W Bush didn’t assume the mantle of president-elect until 13 December 2000 – five weeks later – just before the ‘safe harbor’ deadline.
This shortened the Bush Administration transition period and, some argue, undermined US national security. September 11 occurred less than one year later less than nine months into President Bush’s tenure.
8 Dec 20 – ‘Safe Harbor’ (legal term) date by which electors must be selected by states
The Tuesday in December that is five weeks after the Tuesday in November when the election has taken place
It is six days before the electors meet to cast their votes
A state’s allocation of electors is calculated on the number of senate seats it holds (two per state regardless of the size of the state) plus the number of representatives (this depends on the size of the state’s population)
Electors are chosen to reflect the overall popular vote by each state
‘Winner takes all’ except in Maine and Nebraska where the votes are apportioned by county
If states have chosen their electors by this date (i.e. all disputes/recounts satisfied) then Congress will see this slate as conclusive and unchallengeable (it was the perceived necessity of adhering to this date that the US Supreme Court cited in Bush v. Gore in 2000)
The 538 electors should be selected by their states by this day and state governors certify the electoral slate that will meet to cast the ballots for the president
These electors are chosen to reflect the popular vote in the state from which they hail according to all current state electoral laws
However, the constitution doesn’t state this and there is some ambiguity as to whether state legislatures can directly appoint their electors if there is an issue with the vote such as fraud. This was one of the outcomes President Trump was hoping to achieve with his various lawsuits
During the election of 1876, four states sent rival slates of electors
In Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court ruled that states can ‘take back the power to appoint electors’
14 Dec 20 (first Monday after second Wednesday in Dec)
Electors from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia meet in their respective states to cast ballots for the presidency
This is a significant date
According to the popular vote in each state, Joe Biden will be the clear winner with 306 electoral college votes
The electoral college votes are sent ‘to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate’ and a number of other officials to arrive by 23 December 2020 (fourth Wednesday in December)
If there was an even split in the electoral college ballots due to states sending two slates of votes (one by popular vote, one by legislature) then this would create a serious crisis and lurch the United States into uncharted territory
3 Jan 21 – new Congress seated representing the outcome of the Congressional elections which also took place on 3 November.
The Democrats have retained control of the House of Representatives, however, the Senate election is still undecided (subsequently the Democrats won the 2 Georgia Senate seats)
Currently, the Republicans have 50 seats, the Democrats have 46 and independents have 2 (these two independents, Bernie Sanders and Angus King vote or caucus with the Democratic Party)
So, with the independent senators, the Democrats have 48 seats
If they could reach 50 then the senate would be tied and the vice-president (Kamala Harris from 20 January) would cast the deciding vote on legislation essentially giving control to the Senate to the Democrats.
Two senate seats remain in contention in Georgia but represent a long-shot for Democrats.
In both, Republican candidates failed to garner 50% of the electorate so a run-off was required by Georgia’s election law
Democrats will go all out to win these two seats as control of the Senate along with the House of Representatives will allow the incoming Biden Administration at least two years to pass its legislative manifesto
Stacey Abrams in Georgia ran a great campaign for Biden in this state flipping the state blue for the first time in 24 years energising Democrats
5 Jan 21 – run offs for Senate seats in the state of Georgia
6 Jan 21 – Houses of Congress meet to count the electoral college votes. As a rule, this is just a formality. Though nothing seems to conform to tradition in 2020
20 January 2021 – this is the date the 20th amendment of the US constitution has set for the inauguration of the president and vice-president.
Donald Trump’s term in office ends at noon on that day and the new administration ascends to power
Jacqueline Fitzgibbon 
Leave a comment