Getty ImagesUS lawmakers will gather on Monday for a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election – a procedure that takes place every four years after the vote and two weeks before the president’s inauguration.
Last time, routine went awry when a group of Trump supporters rioted at the Capitol in an attempt to stop the official vote count and overturn his 2020 election defeat.
This year’s certification will bring Trump closer to returning to the White House, after the Republican won the 2024 contest against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Because of her role as Senate leader, Harris will oversee the certification.
What happens during certification?
Federal law states that Congress must meet on January 6 to certify the election results.
Members open sealed certificates from all 50 U.S. states, each containing a record of that state’s electoral votes.
The results are read aloud and an official count is made.
The President of the Senate – currently Harris – presides over the joint session of Congress. She will officially declare the winner of the presidential election.
What happened last time?
Routine turned to violence on January 6, 2021: it was the last time a joint session of Congress was held to certify the election results.
After Trump made unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, hundreds of rioters broke barricades to try to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump urged then-vice president Mike Pence to show “courage” and allow states to “correct their votes.”
After the mob filled — then emptied — the halls of the U.S. Capitol, members of Congress returned and certified the election, and Pence rejected Trump’s request. Several deaths were attributed to the day’s violence.
In the years since, Trump and many of his supporters have maintained their baseless claims about the 2020 election. He has pledged to pardon some of those convicted of riot-related offenses upon his return to the presidency .
ReutersWhat is likely to happen this year?
Although there is some lingering anxiety in Washington, D.C., this year’s certification is expected to go off without a hitch, and Harris has not disputed the results.
This won’t be the first time a defeated candidate has had to oversee the certification process.
In 2021, Pence oversaw the certification of the Biden-Harris victory, and in 2001, then-vice president Al Gore oversaw the certification of President George W. Bush.
Could a member of Congress object to the results?
Short answer: yes. But that doesn’t happen very often.
Members of Congress are allowed to object after a state’s certificate is read. But for the presiding officer to hear the objection, it must be in writing and signed by one fifth of the members of the House (the lower house) and one fifth of the Senate (the upper house). Previously, an objection only had to be raised by one member of each house.
The new policy was developed in 2022, with the aim of making objections more difficult. If an objection meets the new requirements, the joint session would be suspended so that the House and Senate can consider the objection separately. Both chambers would need to reach a majority vote for the objection to be sustained.
Challenges to electoral votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania were rejected by the House and Senate in 2021.
What happens next?
Once certification is complete, there is only one step left in the process before Trump officially becomes president again: the inauguration.
On January 20, the Trump family, former presidents and the public will gather on the West Front of the Capitol for the official swearing-in of the 47th president.
