Members of the Electoral College will cast their votes for president on Monday, with Joe Biden expected to receive 306 electoral votes compared to just 232 for President Trump. A candidate must secure 270 to win the presidency.
The step comes as President Trump has so far chosen not to concede to Biden, filing a host of lawsuits alleging that fraud tainted the 2020 election.
The U.S. Constitution provides that each state will have a quantity of electors equivalent to the combined number of senators and House members that the state is entitled to have in the nation's legislature. Thus, states with larger populations have more electoral votes than states with smaller populations.
The candidate who wins the national popular vote does not always win the Electoral College vote. But the Electoral College vote, not the national popular vote, determines which candidate wins the presidential contest.
The Associated Press reported that the Electoral College does not meet in one central location, but electors for every state and the District of Columbia gather at a location selected by their own legislature.
With the exception of Maine and Nebraska, states award all of their Electoral College votes to the winner of the state's popular vote. Nevada and Maine divide their Electoral College votes between the statewide winner and the victor in each congressional district.
"Maine awards two of its four electoral votes to the statewide winner, but also allocates an electoral vote to the popular vote winner in each of its two congressional districts," according to CBS News. "Nebraska gives two of its five electoral votes to the statewide winner, with the remaining three going to the popular vote winner in each of its three congressional districts."
"In 32 states and the District of Columbia, laws require electors to vote for the popular-vote winner," the AP reported. "Electors almost always vote for the state winner anyway, because they generally are devoted to their political party," the outlet noted.
On Jan. 6, Vice President Mike Pence will preside over a joint session of the U.S. Congress and the votes will be counted.
If a minimum of one lawmaker from each chamber of the nation's bicameral legislature objects via writing to some electoral votes, each chamber would debate the matter separately.
"An objection to a state’s electoral vote must be approved by both houses in order for any contested votes to be excluded," according to the Congressional Research Service.
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