Why today is the real US election
Whenthe 20 Pennsylvania loyalists selected by President-elect Joe Biden gather to cast their electoral vote ballots today, it will be a big step toward leaving behind the chaos of the election and its aftermath.
The ceremony at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg will be unusual not only for its pandemic restrictions, but also for its importance in officially anointing the president-elect amid a deluge of lawsuits and browbeating of state officials by President Donald Trumpin an effort to overturn Biden’s victory in the state.
The ballots signed by Biden’s chosen electors today are, under the Usconstitution, the real election.
The electors’ ballots are sent to Congress, where they are to be read into the official record by Vice President Mike Pence during a joint session on January 6.
After today, Trumpmight still try to derail Biden’s election. Given historical precedent, it’s difficult to seehowhe would succeed under existing law, say constitutional law scholars.
Trump and Republican allies have tried, in various ways, to get the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature to put up amajority vote to dispute Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania and instead send Trump’s electors to Congress.
Courts have refused those entreaties. So have the Legislature’s Republican leaders, whosay lawmakers delegated the authority of picking electors to voters under a nearly century-old law.
Trump’s backers say courts could still intervene. But constitutional law scholars say they can’t see courts intervening after electoral votes are cast, given legal precedent and constitutional provisions.
Michael Dimino, a law professor at Widener University’s law school in Harrisburg, said the courts’ role has been to ensure the law was followed in tabulating votes, certifying results and appointing electors, not the postElectoral College process.
In any case, “no court has ever issued an order nullifying a governor’s certification of presidential election results,” lawyers for Pennsylvania Governortomwolf wrote in a filing to the Ussupreme Court.
It is extraordinarily unlikely that Biden’s hand-picked electors— Democratic Party officials, public office holders, organised labour allies and others— might go rogue and write in Trump’snameon their ballot.
Pennsylvania has no law requiring electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote, as somestates do. But
Pennsylvania’s rules for picking electors— allowing the candidate themselves to pick— are stronger than manyother states’.
“I would be shocked if there were any faithless electors” in Pennsylvania, said Derek Muller, auniversity of Iowa law professorwhospecialises in election law.
Biden’s victory was essentially locked in by last Wednesday’s socalled safe harbour deadline, set by
federal law for states to finish their certifications and resolve legal disputes. It’s an insurance policy to guard against Congress trying to manipulate the electoral votes that will be cast and sent to the Capitol for counting on January 6.
Still, Trumployalists could try to send theirownelectoral votes to Congress without the backing of any state authority or certification.
Trump’s attorney said in court papers that the campaign is asking his Wisconsin electors to do just that, in case a court intervenes in the meantime. Atrumpelector in Pennsylvania, Lou Barletta, said the same thing is possible in his state.
If that happens, under federal law, Congress must determine which electoral votes were sent under colour of state law. The law points to
Congress recognising ballots certified by the state and bearing the governor’s signature, Muller said.
Republicanmembers of theus House have signalled that they will object to slates of Biden electors from Pennsylvania and other states on January 6. To force a two-hour debate on a state’s electors, any senator must also sign paperwork formally objecting.
Preventing a state’s electoral votes from counting requires a majority vote in both chambers— also extraordinarily unlikely. Pence is to read the states in alphabetical order and, by the time Pennsylvania gets a turn, lawmakersmaybe tired of debating.
“Pennsylvania has probably had the most political and legal controversy in this election,” Muller said. “But it’s pretty low in the alphabet.” — AP