§15 Counting Electoral Votes in Congress

Summary

Congress must meet on the sixth day of January after the electors meet. The Senate and House meet together in the House chamber at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and the President of the Senate presides. The President of the Senate only does routine, procedural tasks while leading the joint session and may not decide or reject which electors or electoral votes are valid. Each chamber appoints two tellers beforehand. The President opens each State’s certificates in alphabetical order (starting with A) and gives them to the tellers to read aloud. After each reading, the presiding officer asks for objections. An objection must be written, signed by at least one-fifth of the Senators duly chosen and sworn and one-fifth of the House Members duly chosen and sworn, and must say either that the State’s electors were not lawfully certified under section 5(a)(1) or that an elector’s vote was not regularly given. If an objection meets these rules, the two Houses separate and vote on it separately. An objection is upheld only if both Houses agree by separate votes. Only votes from electors appointed under a certificate of ascertainment issued under section 5, or who were legally appointed to fill a vacancy under section 4, may be counted, unless an objection meeting the requirements is sustained by both Houses. If a State appointed fewer electors than it is entitled to under section 3, or an objection about certification is sustained, the total number used to determine a majority under the Twelfth Amendment is reduced. The tellers list the votes and the President of the Senate announces the result, which is entered in the records as the official declaration.