Donald Trump has just delivered a speech to jubilant supporters in Florida, celebrating not only becoming the 47th president of the U.S., but also winning the popular vote, keeping control of the House of Representatives and securing a majority in the Senate.
Voting is still underway, so some results have yet to be properly confirmed. But Trump was under no illusion that this has, in his opinion, been “the greatest political movement of all time”—one which must now focus on putting the past four years of national division “behind” in order to bring about “the golden age of America.”
Flanked by family members and senior figures from his campaign team, Trump outlined the need to “unite” so as to “heal” the country.
Every citizen, I will fight for you—for your family and your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you, with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve, and that you deserve.
Trump was clearly in good spirits, inviting others on stage to say a few words, occasionally responding to members of the audience and even joking that he wanted his ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to keep away from national oil policy.
When asked to address the nation, running mate J.D. Vance hailed Trump’s as “the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America,” adding that this will now be followed by the “greatest economic comeback in American history.”
Trump then suggested that God may have protected him from the infamous assassination attempt “for a reason,” adding that this election “will forever be remembered as the day the American people regained control of their country.”
Concluding on the theme of unity, Trump stressed that “success is going to bring us together.”
8:24 a.m. (CET)—Trump readying to deliver a speech to his supporters
8:14 a.m. (CET)—CNN calls Pennsylvania for Trump
Trump will win the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, according to CNN projections. The victory hands the presidential hopeful 19 electoral votes.
CNN reckon he is now just 4 EC votes away from the all-important 270 marker.
Harris is behind with 188.
8:08 a.m. (CET)—‘Russian bomb threats’ may not have been Russian
Just because alleged bomb threats on polling stations may have come from .ru domains does not mean that they were of Russian origin, the head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has claimed.
Jen Easterly told reporters: “I don’t necessarily think that that means they were Russian. I think that is still being investigated.”
Four states are said to have received threats. They all responded by evacuating polling places.
7:14 a.m. (CET)—Turn off the lights, the party’s over
Harris’s watch party is done for tonight, which is a good job since the hall was, by all reports, getting rather empty.
But now, the Trump team is moving people from the Mar-a-Lago viewing party to the convention centre, where a speech is likely to take place. Trump’s own motorcade was filmed en route to the centre by his British friend Nigel Farage, who said earlier in the night that the presidential hopeful “is going to win.”
7:00 a.m. (CET)— Harris Cancels Address to Supporters as Trump Has Victory In Sight
The NYT ‘needle’ now says Trump has a 95% chance of winning the election after he flipped the key battleground state of Georgia.
Upon learning of the projection, Harris’ team announced that she will not be addressing her supporters in D.C. tonight, who have spent the past hour leaving the watch ‘party,’ anyway. Cedric Richmond, who is co-chair of Harris’ campaign, said she will deliver a speech tomorrow, instead.
6:46 a.m. (CET)—Republicans win Senate majority
Republican senator Deb Fischer has won a third term, according to AP, handing her party control of the upper chamber.
6:45 a.m. (CET)—Trump will win Georgia
Trump is projected to win Georgia, another key battleground state where he has managed to pull in support from political independents and minority voters.
CNN now puts him on 246 projected electoral votes—not far off the 270 required for an overall win—to Harris’ 182.
The NYT says he has a 92% chance of winning the election.
6:34 a.m. (CET)—Yet another G.O.P election integrity win
Republican chairman Michael Whatley has announced that party lawyers succeeded in throwing down efforts in Pennsylvania to stop ballot counting through the night, which he said was “in violation of state law.”
Whatley added that “our attorneys will continue fighting to quickly eliminate issues at the polls as they arise!”
6:33 a.m. (CET)—Republicans in reach of Senate control
Republican Bernie Moreno has defeated three-term Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, according to AP.
This puts the G.O.P. in a very good position to form a majority in the Senate, unless the Democrats pull out an unexpected win.
6:28 a.m (CET)—Satire mags and mainstream broadcasters UNITE!
Satirical site The Babylon Bee posted an article under an hour ago jibing that “Democrats [are] wondering if it’s too late to go back to Joe Biden.”
At around the same time, pundits on NBC began questioning whether the Democrats were right to drop the president from the race after that horrendous debate with Donald Trump.
The lines are starting to blur.
6:10 a.m. (CET)—More results come in for Harris
It’s a shame Harris’s supporters are starting to leave her election party in D.C., as a string of results have just come in in her favour.
CNN has recently announced Washington State, Hawaii, and Virginia, taking her projected electoral vote total to 182. (There are reports elsewhere she has also taken New Mexico. More on that soon.)
The broadcaster also projected that Trump will win Nebraska, taking his EC vote total to 230.
6:05 a.m. (CET)—Democrats at Harris election party “heading for the exits“
That is according to the NYT, which said voters started walking out “upon hearing news on giant TV monitors that the election will not be called tonight.”
5:47 a.m. (CET)—CNN catches up…
CNN has also now projected that Trump will win the key battleground state of North Carolina, handing him 16 electoral votes.
The Republican now sits on a projected total of 227 EC votes.
CNN also recently projected Oregon for Harris, putting her total up to 153.
5:46 a.m. (CET)—Democrats being ditched in largely Muslim area
Detroit journalist Niraj Warikoo reports that Harris is unlikely to hold the heavily-Muslim populated south end of Dearborn, where president Joe Biden won big just four years ago. That’s another group lost, then.
5:25 a.m. (CET)—First swing state called goes to Trump, early reports say
AP has projected a Trump win in North Carolina, where we reported earlier that the presidential hopeful has been making gains with minority groups.
This is the first swing state to be announced tonight.
In the wake of the news, the NYT needle has increased Trump’s chance of electoral victory to 91%.
5:22 a.m. (CET)—D.C. Democrat watch party “feels like a wake”
British journalist Steven Edginton, U.S. correspondent for GB News, writes that a Democrat watch party he is attending in Washington, D.C., “feels like a wake.”
I asked one couple who didn’t want to go on camera how they feel about the election, they smiled and walked away saying: “We’re upset.”
5:07 a.m. (CET)—Harris crosses over 100 electoral votes
CNN has projected that Harris will win California, as expected, taking its 54 electoral votes. She now sits on a projected total of 145.
Trump has also just been projected to succeed in Idaho by CNN, taking his projected electoral vote total to 211.
4:53 a.m. (CET)—“Huge cheer” as Trump defies recent poll in Iowa
Iowa and Kansas have been added to Trump’s list of projected wins, taking his—again, projected—electoral vote total to 207.
Remember that just a few days ago, highly disputed polling from Des Moines Register/Mediacom suggested that Harris would win Iowa. At the time, Trump bashed these figures as “fake.”
His supporters are now feeling more and more confident, and there was reportedly a “huge cheer” when CNN announced its projection for ‘The Hawkeye State.’
4:33 a.m. (CET)—Trump close to 200 projected electoral votes
CNN now projects that Trump will win Ohio, gaining a significant 17 electoral votes and taking him to a current projected total of 195.
Harris remains on 91, for now.
4:30 a.m. (CET)—NYT ‘needle’ moving further in Trump’s favour
Just 20 minutes ago, the NYT’s election ‘needle’ said Trump had a 65% chance of victory.
It is been moving almost non-stop ever since, and is currently resting even more in Trump’s favour:
Certainly one to keep an eye on.
4:25 a.m. (CET)—CNN admits to “anxiety” in pro-Harris crowd
Democrats are waiting for “some good news,” according to one CNN reporter in Washington, D.C., who highlighted “anxiety in the [pro-Harris] crowd.”
One party insider also previously told the broadcaster that Harris is “very likely” to speak tonight, regardless of whether there is an outcome to the race.
Trump is reported to have spoken to supporters “briefly” earlier this evening.
4:21 a.m. (CET)—The latest calls
In the last 20 minutes, the following states have been projected by CNN for Trump:
- Louisiana (8 electoral votes)
- Utah (6)
- Montana (4)
- Mississippi (6)
… taking him to a total of 178 electoral votes.
Harris has also been projected to win Colorado, boosting her to 91 electoral votes.
3:36 a.m. (CET)—No big surprises in the race so far
Trump is far ahead in terms of projected electoral votes so far, but there have yet to be any big shocks in terms of wins, so it’s really all still in the balance.
In the last few moments, CNN has projected that Harris will win Illinois, with its 19 electoral votes, Rhode Island, with its four, and New York, with its 28 taking her to a total of 81.
But the big battleground areas still haven’t been called, and the vote counts in these are far from over.
It’s definitely worth keeping your eyes peeled and your hopes—whichever way they lean—tempered.
That said, The New York Times has updated its electoral prediction from “tossup” to “lean,” in Trump’s favour.
3:15 a.m. (CET)—Harris to win Delaware
Harris is projected to win Delaware, taking three additional electoral votes. The whole of the West Coast has also yet to be announced, which will more than likely all go to the Democratic presidential nominee.
3:08 a.m. (CET)—More states projected for Trump, but battlegrounds still too early to call
Just in:
Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Texas have all been projected for Trump, taking him to 154 electoral votes.
Harris is still at 27. But that doesn’t mean much, since three key battleground states—Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona—have yet to be called.
3:03 a.m. (CET)—Young men have turned out for Trump “because of Joe Rogan”
An NBC journalist has just broadcasted from outside a polling station in Arizona, where he overheard many late-coming young men say that they were casting a ballot because of Trump’s appearance last week on the Joe Rogan podcast.
He claimed to have come across “several students now who say that they listened to that Joe Rogan podcast with the former president and that was the deciding factor for them. And they have also said that if Kamala Harris … would have appeared on that podcast, they may have had their votes skewed.”
2:51 a.m.—Independents shift to Trump in key state of Pennsylvania
… by six points, according to NBC exit polling, putting Trump at 50% with independent voters in the state and Harris just behind at 44%.
2:45 a.m. (CET)—Big election news incoming
All voting is about to end in Michigan and Wisconsin, two key battleground states that could shape the election as a whole.
Stay tuned.
2:40 a.m. (CET)—More minority news
Trump has also won 25% of the black male vote in battleground state Georgia, which is still too close to call, according to exit polling.
2:33 a.m. (CET)—Trump set to win South Carolina and Arkansas
CNN has just called both South Carolina and Arkansas for Trump, taking him to over 100 electoral votes. Harris is still at 27, with polling in a number of battleground states closing soon.
2:31 a.m. (CET)—Trump is winning over Latino men
It’s not just in North Carolina that Trump appears to have made gains with minorities.
Nationwide polling suggests Latino men are breaking for him by a not-insignificant 10-point margin.
NBC’s Amanda Terkel has this useful chart:
2:27 a.m. (CET)—Betting markets are spiking for Trump
More good news for the Trump team, as global betting markets turn more in the Republican presidential hopeful’s favour.
2:15 a.m. (CET)—Harris team preparing for a “month of litigation hell”
A Harris campaign advisor has claimed that the presidential hopeful’s team is preparing for a host of legal battles, whatever the outcome of the election.
The official told CNN: “There’s going to be a month of litigation hell.”
Party donors have also been told to brace for “four to six weeks where everyone is suing everybody,” highlighting that the election is far from over, even with key results already flowing in.
2:13 a.m. (CET)—Why do some states take weeks to count?
Journalist Ryan Saavedra highlights that Florida has counted 73% of its votes just 37 minutes after polls closed there, highlighting that “this is what happens when you have highly competent executive leadership like you get with DeSantis.”
2:09 a.m (CET)—Latest projections put Trump at 90 electoral votes and Harris at 27
A big wave of projections have just been announced. Here’s a quick run down for Trump:
- Alabama (9 electoral votes)
- Tennessee (11)
- Florida (30)
- Missouri (10)
- Oklahoma (7)
… leaving him at 90 electoral votes.
And for Harris:
- Massachusetts (11 electoral votes)
- Maryland (10)
- District of Columbia (3)
… leaving her at 27 electoral votes.
2:02 a.m. (CET)—Trump gaining with minorities in North Carolina
North Carolina has yet to be called, but early reports suggest that Trump is gaining with minorities there.
Data suggest he is up five points with black voters and seven points with Latino voters.
More results in very shortly.
1:42 a.m. (CET)—Russia denounces “malicious slander” as U.S. accuses it of fake bomb threats
The Russian embassy in America has responded to claims, including from the FBI, that it has been behind phoney bomb threats at polling booths, which have caused major disruption to voting.
In a statemen, it said:
All accusations about ‘Russian shenanigans’ are malicious slander, invented to be used in the internal political race in the United States.
1:39 a.m (CET)—More results in for Trump
West Virginia, with its four electoral votes, has been projected as another win for Trump.
Polls also just closed in Ohio and battleground state North Carolina, but broadcasters say these states are still too close to call. (We’ll be hearing a lot of that over the next few hours.)
NBC also just projected that the West Virginia Senate winner is Republican’s Jim Justice, marking a swing from the Democrats.
Much, much more to come.
1:31 a.m. (CET)—Georgia independents shifting to Trump
Trump is winning more Georgia voters who describe themselves as political independents, according to a CNN exit poll.
The Republican is winning independents by 54% to Harris’s 43%, according to new figures which could have a significant impact on the election night as a whole.
Reports also show that more fake bomb threats disrupted voting ahead of closing time, with five voting sites temporarily shutting shop as a precautionary measure. Voting hours have been extended as a result.
Polls will now soon close in North Carolina, another battleground state. Stay tuned.
1:15 a.m. (CET)—Early projections start to flow in
CNN projects that Trump will win Kentucky and Indiana, handing him 19 electoral votes (eight and 11 respectively), and Harris will win Vermont, handing her three.
Broadcasters say that Georgia, a key battleground state, cannot yet be called.
Even those states which have been called could still flip, given that only a very low percentage of the votes in these areas have been counted.
1:05 a.m. (CET)—31,000 votes to being recounted in Wisconsin after error found
Officials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have announced plans to restart the count of around 31,000 mail-in ballots. Reports say this is because of an error in preparing the tabulators for counting them—namely, that the doors on the machines were not properly closed before counting began.
Spokeswoman Caroline Reinhard stressed that officials have “no doubt regarding the integrity of the election.”
12:54 a.m. (CET)—CBS exit poll: Harris voters far more confident that election being run fairly
A whopping 88% of Harris voters believe that today’s elections are being run fairly compared to just 47% of Trump voters, according to the exit poll from CBS.
The broadcaster also found that democracy and the economy are top issues this time around, and that majorities on both sides expect there to be violence related to the resutls. This is the first time in history that the poll has asked Americans about the prospect of violence.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, CBS reports that its exit polls “show that a big majority of voters decided on their candidate long ago—roughly 8 in 10 before September.”
12:37 a.m. (CET)—Trump team is confident of a successful night, but vocal about “cheating”
Just half an hour after the first polls closed, Trump insiders are already said to be confident—not just “quietly,” according to journalist Charles Gasparino, but “pretty loud[ly].”
British Trump fan—and Reform UK leader—Nigel Farage also posted a video on social media while on his way to Mar-a-Lago, saying: “I’m feeling very, very bullish indeed.”
But on his own social media platform, TruthSocial, Trump has attacked what he said people have described as “massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,” Pennsylvania. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner responded that “there is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation.”
Elsewhere, Harris’ team is said to have been able to breath a sigh of relief at figures suggesting that more than half of voters claim either democracy or abortion is the most important issue at this election.
12:08 a.m. (CET)—Early CNN exit poll hard watch for Harris campaign
Just 7% of Americans are “enthusiastic” about the way things are going in the U.S., according to an early exit poll from CNN. 72% responded that they were either “dissatisfied” or “angry,” while 58% of those approached by the broadcaster for its preliminary findings said they “disapprove” of president Joe Biden.
Veteran broadcaster Chris Wallace said it would be a “miracle” for Harris to win “with that kind of headwind,” and Trump described the figures as “catastrophic”—though not for him, of course. But Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg insisted that the polling—which could all come to nothing—really ought to be taken with a “grain of salt.”
11:30 p.m. (CET)—Turnout ‘Surging’—Could Be In Trump’s Favour
After earlier expressing concern about voter turnout not being “where we want it to be,” conservative commentator—and Trump-backing Turning Point CEO—Charlie Kirk has reported that a “huge after work surge [is] happening right now” in some key swing states, including Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Kirk wrote that “the men are arriving. Turnout is SURGING,” adding that voters must “STAY IN LINE!”
Nearly 86 million Americans voted early, either by mail or in person, according to The Wall Street Journal.
And officials in battleground areas insist that voting is smooth.
11:22 p.m. (CET)—Harris caught pretending to call voter
New footage is doing the rounds on social media which appears to show Kamala Harris pretending to talk to a voter on the phone.
In the clip, Harris ‘thanks’ a voter for backing her candidacy, before mistakenly revealing that her phone was open to the camera app. Take a look for yourself:
Perhaps she was worried that actually talking to a voter would put them off turning out.
10:46 p.m. (CET)—FBI says none of the bomb threats have been credible
In a statement released in the last few hours, FBI officials said they were “aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states,” such as in Georgia, and that “none of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.”
The Bureau added that “many” of the threats “appear to originate from Russian email domains.”
The agency’s post prompted hundreds of social media users to question the bomb threat claims, with some suggesting another ‘Russian interference’ story was around the corner.
10:35 p.m. (CET)—UPDATE: Republicans secure election integrity win in Milwaukee
We reported earlier on a Republican emergency injunction against the Milwaukee Election Commission, which it accused of imposing unfair limits on poll watcher numbers at five different stations.
G.O.P. chairman Michael Whatley has just revealed that “as a result of our lawsuit, we just got word that Milwaukee has affirmed that poll watchers will have full access to observe the voting process.”
Whatley hailed this as a “big win for Badger State voters!”
10:12 p.m. (CET)—How would Europeans vote in the U.S. election?
Europe Elects have aggregated polls asking people on this side of the pond how they would vote in the U.S. election if they had the chance, and have produced this handy chart:
Apparently, only eight countries—including Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria—would lean more toward Trump, whereas more polled voters in the other 24 countries would rather vote for Harris.
9:56 p.m. (CET)—Google says it’s fixing discrepancy in search for polling stations
Search engine giant Google has acknowledged an issue flagged by users whereby searches for “Where can I vote for Harris” result in an interactive map tool showing polling stations but searches for “Where can I vote for Trump” provides no information.
“The ‘where to vote’ panel is triggering for some specific searches [because] Harris is also the name of a county in [Texas],” Google said in a statement.
It also said a “fix is coming,” and attempted to underplay the apparent fault by insisting that “very few people actually search for voting places this way.” That’s alright then!
Although entrepreneur and author David Sacks responded that “Google Comms is lying,” and provided screenshots which suggested that users “get the location module without typing in Harris. It only goes away when you type in Trump.”
9:15 p.m. (CET)—Sensitive students offered “self-care suites” to help cope with election day
No, this isn’t a story from The Babylon Bee.
Students at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., have been offered access to so-called “self-care suites” stocked with Lego, coloring books, milk, cookies and hot chocolate—all to keep them guarded from the stresses of election day.
The New York Post has a write-up, and notes that this institution is “a crucible for our nation’s next generation of elected officials and diplomats that [costs] a cool $61,200 [€56,000] per year to attend.” Hardly encouraging.
8:48 p.m. (CET)—Man arrested with torch and flare gun at U.S. Capitol
Political figures have called for calm after a man was arrested at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington because he “smelled like fuel, had a torch and a flare gun.”
The centre is now closed for the day pending an investigation.
Responding to the arrest, Republican strategist Brittany Martinez insisted that “this CANNOT become the norm. Political extremism has no place in our two-party system.”
8:38 p.m.(CET)—Georgia Secretary of State accuses Russia of phoney bomb threat
At least two polling stations were closed in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier today, disrupting voting.
Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said the decision was made after bomb threats were directed at polling places. He described these as being of “Russian origin,” but did not explain how officials had learnt the source of the alleged threat.
Social media has, perhaps unsurprisingly, been awash with claims the story as a whole was phoney, designed to keep voters away from polling stations. The two stations were closed for about 30 minutes each.
7:30 p.m. (CET)—Leading Republican raises concern over election integrity
Poll watchers—or ‘election observers’—from the Republican party were initially denied access to stations in eight different counties across Pennsylvania, according to the G.O.P chairman.
Michael Whatley said that the officials, who help to ensure electoral integrity, “were being turned away.” They were later let into the polling stations after the party deployed its roving attorneys.
Voting has since been extended in one Pennsylvania county due to an unrelated scanner issue.
Republicans also last night asked for an emergency injunction against the Milwaukee Election Commission, which it accused of setting unreasonable limits on poll watchers at five different stations. The Republican National Committee warned that such limits “will only cast doubt on the administration of our elections and cause a lack of voter confidence in our electoral process.”
Over in England, The Guardian expectedly described voter fraud claims by Trump and X/Twitter CEO Elon Musk—who has endorsed the Republican candidate—as alarming and “baseless.”
Follow below for updates as significant results and other news comes in.
6:35 p.m. (CET)—Trump and Harris issue final pleas to voters
Former president Donald Trump took to social media as Americans went out to vote today, asking supporters to “deliver your vote no matter how long it takes. STAY IN LINE,” because “the Radical Communist Democrats want you to pack up and go home.”
The Republican presidential hopeful, who stressed that “this will be the most important day in American history,” also told reporters he felt “very confident” after voting in Palm Beach, Florida, this morning.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is in Washington, D.C., from where she has told supporters that “when we vote, we win.” The Democratic presidential hopeful, who has already mailed her ballot to California, also put out a final plea for her followers to “knock on doors. Call voters. Reach out to friends and family,” adding that “together, we will write the next chapter of the greatest story ever told.”
5:30 (CET)—Key election timings
Polls are now open and about 244 million Americans are eligible to vote in what Rod Dreher has described as a clash of postliberalisms, fronted by the Republican’s Donald Trump and the Democrat’s Kamala Harris. Americans have been going out to cast their ballots after one last particularly bizarre weekend of campaigning.
We will be posting updates as significant results and other news comes in. First, here’s a look at the (likely) key timings, both for your benefit and ours!
- Voting closes between 6:00 p.m. U.S. eastern time (midnight CET) and midnight (6:00 a.m.). The last two states likely to close are Alaska and Hawaii, which are both unlikely to have a major impact on the overall result thanks to their low share of electoral votes. More on that shortly!
- 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. eastern (1:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. CET): Early indications of the final result will start to flow in, with polls closing in Georgia and North Carolina, both swing states.
- 8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. eastern (2:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m. CET): Voting will close in Pennsylvania, which has been dubbed one of the most significant swing states of the election. It should also close in Michigan and Wisconsin, two other ‘blue wall states’ taken by Trump in 2016.
- 10:00 p.m. eastern (4:00 a.m. CET): Polling should close in two other swing states, Arizona and Nevada.
Early voting numbers should begin to trickle out shortly after polling closes across the states, but keen viewers will have to do more waiting to find out the winner. If a clear frontrunner emerges in key swing states after polls close, an overall victor might tentatively be outlined. But if these battlegrounds are too close to call, the process out counting—and recounting—all votes could take much longer.
Why does the U.S. have an electoral college?
The electoral college protects the needs and opinions of small-population states from being overshadowed by the large-population and politically-powerful coastal states and urban centers.
The system ensures that America follows the constitutional principles of respecting the rights of all Americans—including less politically powerful minorities. It also means presidential candidates can’t just focus their campaigning on the large states but must also convince voters in smaller, rural states that their voices are being heard.
What are the advantages of a constitutional republic over a democracy, according to the Founders?
In the Federalist Papers, James Madison wrote that in a pure democracy, “there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual.” In plain English: A constitutional republic guarantees that if the majority says it’s OK for them to take your bike, there are safeguards against them being able to do so.
In a democracy, the law is what the government (majority-elected or not) decides it is. In the American constitutional republic, the Constitution limits the powers of government.
How does the Electoral College Work?
The Electoral College is a process, not an institution:
- Selection of electors
- Meeting of electors where votes are cast for President and Vice President
- Counting of votes by Congress
Electors:
- The Electoral College has 538 members
- A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win
- A state has the same number of electors as its members of Congress (one for each congressman plus two for the senators).
- District of Columbia has 3 electors and is treated like a state for this purpose
- Each candidate has its own group of electors (“slate”) in each state, usually chosen by the candidate’s party in the state.
- Most states have a “winner takes all” system that gives all electoral votes to the winner of the state’s popular vote. Two states, Maine and Nebraska, have different variations of “proportional representation.”
After the election:
- Each state’s executive prepares a document (Certificate of Ascertainment) that lists
- The individuals on each candidate’s slate
- The number of votes each candidate received
- Which individuals are appointed as the state’s electors
- The document is sent to the National Archives as part of the official record
- Electors meet in their separate state on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December—this year, December 17th.
- Electors cast separate ballots for President and VP
- Votes are recorded on a Certificate of Vote
- Certificate of Vote is sent to Congress for counting
- Congress meets on January 6th in a joint session to conduct the official count.
- Sitting President & VP preside over the count and announce results
- Senate President declares who has been elected.
The President-elect takes oath of office and is sworn in on January 20th.
Changes to distribution of electoral college votes:
Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
As we said above, each state has the same number of electors as its members of Congress (one for each congressman plus two for the senators).
- The number of electors, as well as the number of congressmen, is proportional to population. After the 2020 census, the number of electors was redistributed among states.
- Seven states lost one electoral vote each, while six states gained representation
- Texas gained two electoral votes
- Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon gained one electoral vote each
- California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia each lost one.
