Duelling electors pose risk of American vote deadlock
In the United States, a candidate becomes president by securing the most “electoral” votes rather than winning a majority of the national popular vote. Known as the Electoral College, the system allots electors to the 50 states and the District of Columbia largely based on their population.
It is theoretically possible for the governor and legislature, each representing a different political party, to submit two different election results, leading to so-called “duelling slates of electors.”
Below are details of how that might play out. What are electors? The US president is selected by 538 electors, known as the Electoral College, with electors apportioned based on each state’s population. The popular vote in each state typically determines which candidate receives a state’s electoral votes.
The US Constitution and the 1887 Electoral Count Act govern the counting of electoral votes and any related disputes. The electors will meet on December 14 to cast votes, which are then counted by Congress on January 6 in a process overseen by Vice-president Mike Pence in his role as Senate president.
What are duelling electors? States with close contests between Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden could produce competing slates of electors, one certified by the governor and the other by the legislature. The risk of this happening is heightened in the battleground states of Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have Democratic governors and Republican-controlled legislatures.
Some election law experts are concerned that an unprecedented volume of mailed-in votes and legal challenges will delay the outcome of the election for weeks, creating an extended period of uncertainty.
Trump has repeatedly said the election is rigged and made unfounded attacks on mail-in voting, which tends to favour Democrats. If early returns show a Trump lead, experts say the president could press Republican-controlled legislatures to appoint electors favourable to him, claiming the initial vote count reflects the true outcome. Governors in those same states could end up backing a separate slate of electors pledged to Biden if the final count showed the Democratic candidate had won. Both sets of electors would meet and vote on December 14 and the competing results would be sent to Congress.