A Midterm (Civics Exam) Question
The Electoral Count Act of 1887
“Of the current 538 electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. … Each state and the District of Columbia produces two documents to be forwarded to Congress, a certificate of ascertainment and a certificate of vote.
The count of the Electoral College ballots during a joint session of the 117th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, on January 6–7, 2021, was the final step to confirm President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 presidential election over incumbent President Donald Trump.
The Act sets out procedures and deadlines for the states to follow in resolving disputes, certifying results, and sending the results to Congress. If a state follows these “safe harbor” standards and the state’s governor properly submits one set of electoral votes, the Act states that that “final” determination “shall govern.” The Act thus relegates Congress to resolving only a narrow class of disputes, such as if a governor has certified two different slates of electors or if a state fails to certify its results under the Act’s procedures. Congress may also reject votes under the Act for other specific defects, such as ministerial error, if an elector or candidate are ineligible for office, or if the electoral college votes were not “regularly given.”
Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Vice President opens the electoral certificates in his capacity as President of the Senate. The Act clarifies the Vice President’s limited role in the count. Both houses can overrule the Vice President’s decision to include or exclude votes and, under the Act, even if the chambers disagree, the governor’s certification, not the Vice President, breaks the tie.”
——-Wikipedia
Since the mid-20th century, Congress has met in a Joint Session every four years on January 6 at 1:00 p.m. to tally votes in the Electoral College. The sitting Vice President presides over the meeting and opens the votes from each state in alphabetical order.
We know what happened on January 6th, 2021.
So, here’s the question:
What do you think will happen on the 6th of January, 2025 if the Republicans regain control of Congress in the midterm elections of 2022?
w
05/11/2021 @ 9:41 am
I’ll offer conjecture but I’m not taking the class. I’m a peer here, not a student.
The bigger problem will be what happens in the states when legitimate counts aren’t ratified. As you said, the governors get ultimate say and they’re going after the election commissions to put power into the hands of partisan legislators.
05/11/2021 @ 9:48 am
“I’m a peer here, not a student.”
Kosh, you are taking the question much too personally.
The 2022 midterm elections are a ‘civics exam’ for the entire country.
Your take on the matter is a bit narrow. Perhaps this is due to my digest and condensation of the relevant material for the purpose of presenting a readable post.
If the country fails the ‘exam’, we’ll have a constitutional crisis from which we may not be able to recover.
Under the applicable law and rules, the Republicans will be able to wreak such political and constitutional havoc that it will make their attempts at voter suppression and disenfranchisement look like playtime in a kindergarten schoolyard.
If the Dems are able to retain control of both houses of Congress, they must consider making some serious substantive changes to the electoral and legislative processes.
1. Do away with the college of electors and all that it entails;
2. Do away with the filibuster and accept the risks involved by doing so.
05/11/2021 @ 10:12 am
“What do you think will happen on the 6th of January, 2024 if the Republicans regain control of Congress in the midterm elections of 2022?”
I think people might be wondering what will happen a year later.
05/11/2021 @ 10:18 am
It may take longer than a year to quell and resolve the political and constitutional shitstorm the Republicans seem to be all too willing to initiate…
05/11/2021 @ 10:39 am
You never claimed to be a math professor.
05/11/2021 @ 10:48 am
True enough…
However, I believe that if certain Republicans had their way, they would prohibit the use/teaching of ‘arabic numerals’ in public schools.
BTW
Note that the typo has been corrected.
Thanks for the heads up Art.