Former Vice President Joe Biden, 306

Since the Nov. 3 election, all 50 states have counted their votes in the Electoral College. Biden won 306-232. Now, in what is usually a pro-forma exercise, Congress will count the votes submitted by the states. Here are a few examples of what can happen next:

 At 4 p.m. PST lawmakers from the House and Senate will assemble in the House chamber with Vice President Pence presiding in his role as president of the Senate. He will then begin to open the sealed certificates submitted by each state and hand them to tellers appointed from among the House and Senate members to read.

In some recent elections, the entire process was over in less than 30 minutes. But if there are objections to any of the state's certificates, it could take much longer.

 What happens if there are objections? Are any expected?

It seems all but certain there will be objections from House members to the certificates from some states that Biden won, but Trump and some of his supporters still charge the vote should be investigated.

Courts in several states have heard Trump’s claims and have rejected them. A full recount was conducted in Georgia and the outcome was not changed.

A member from the House and the Senate must lodge an objection, in writing, for it to be considered. It's not entirely clear if any senators will choose to do so, although newly elected Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama indicated he would. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., has reportedly urged Republicans not to object. Objecting would put Republicans in the awkward position of supporting a challenge that is all but certain to fail.

If at least one House member and one senator object to the results, the objection is put to a vote after two hours of debate, according to the Congressional Research Service. Members get up to five minutes to speak in favor or against the objection.

A coalition of 11 Republican senators announced Saturday it will challenge the outcome of the presidential election by voting to reject electors from some states.

Then each chamber will vote, with a simple majority required to uphold the objection. Both chambers must agree to the objection for it to succeed.

Objections happened in 2005, when two Democrats — Rep. Stephanie Tubbs and Sen. Barbara Boxer — objected to Ohio’s electors.

In 2017, with then-vice President Biden presiding, several Democrats rose to object to Trump's election. None, however, had submitted their objections in writing and Biden declared, “It's over.”

The effort to change the election for Trump would need to pass by a majority in both chambers. Even if the vote falls on party lines, it will be defeated by the Democratic majority in the House.

It would seem all but certain any attempted challenges to any of the states' electors will fail, simply because Democrats hold the House majority and would not vote to overturn any of Democrat Biden's electors.

Control of the Senate currently hangs on Georgia’s two special elections on Tuesday, but even if the Democrats win those races, the Senate would be 50-50 and Pence would cast the tiebreaking vote.

For some in the GOP, a show of locked in support to Trump could be as important as the results. If enough objections are lodged, the proceedings could go on for a while, even if the outcome is preordained.