What to expect when the Electoral College meets today

The meeting of the Electoral College today the beginning of the final chapter of Joe Biden’s presidential transition.

On a day that usually virtually ignored, all eyes will be on the USA as 538 electors secure their votes across the country in all 50 states.

But how do we expect it to pan out?

Some states will vote virtually this year, but fewer than you would expect

The majority of states will still vote in person despite coronavirus figures peaking in the US. A selection of states legally require senators to appear in person to do so, such as New York and Georgia.

Up until last night Nevada was the only state expected to hold their meeting virtually, until CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted that Senate offices will be closed in Michigan after ‘credible threats of violence’.

Donald Trump might still try to delay the process as much as possible

Though President Trump admitted last month that he would leave office if Biden wins today, you can expect some last ditch attempts to render today’s democratic process invalid.

He was featured in a Fox News interview yesterday denouncing the Supreme Court as ‘chickening out’ of his legal challenges to disregard the outcomes of key swing states.

There has been implications from key figures in the Trump team such as Rudy Giuliani that today will not cement Biden’s win for them.

He has said ‘the only fixed day in the US Constitution is the inauguration of the President on January 20 at noon’.

But the Supreme Court have taken measures to ensure this does not happen

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court granted states the power to punish or remove electors that do not vote in line with the citizens they represent. The move was applauded by most representatives cross-party at the time.

It should in theory spell the end of any derailment to the Biden presidency, but many experts are not ruling out a small number of electors going rogue.

Joe Biden will make a speech at the end of the day

Today is usually viewed as arbitrary due to each state officially certifying their results. To instill some faith in America’s democratic process, Joe Biden will offer closing remarks at 1am GMT/ 8pm EST.