This Should Be Milestone Day for Joe Biden

Electoral College meets to formally cast their votes for the presidency
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2020 6:30 AM CST
Updated Dec 14, 2020 6:53 AM CST
It's Another Big Day for Election 2020
In this Dec. 19, 2016, file photo, members of the Mississippi Electoral College sign certificates in the process of formally casting their electoral votes in the 2016 general election.   (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Monday is a significant day in the US on two fronts: Not only do COVID vaccinations begin but the Electoral College meets. The latter is the next big step in the selection of the president, and one with added significance in 2020 because of President Trump's continuing challenge of the results, notes the Wall Street Journal. However, when all is said and done on Monday, Joe Biden is expected to formally receive 306 votes and Trump 232. That sets the stage for the next important date: Jan 6., when the votes cast on Monday will be counted in a joint session of Congress over which Vice President Pence will preside, per the AP.

Electors will meet in their own states and in the District of Colombia to cast their paper ballots, with the first sessions beginning at 10 Eastern, reports USA Today. Biden is expected to address the nation in the evening when the process is complete. Some states allow "faithless" electors to cast ballots for a candidate not chosen by the voters, but the AP doesn't expect any such defections this year. (Trump's latest court challenge was soundly rejected over the weekend in Wisconsin.)

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