On Tuesday, December 17, presidential electors will gather at state capitols across the United States, formally casting their votes to officially solidify President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race. This process is largely ceremonial, serving as the next crucial step after the public’s vote in the election. While Americans cast their ballots on Election Day, what they’re truly doing is voting for a slate of electors who are committed to supporting their choice for president and vice president.
The Electoral College: How It Works
The system governing the Electoral College is clearly outlined in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It states that presidential electors must "name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President." These electors then create separate lists of all the people who were voted for president and vice president, including the number of votes for each. Once this is done, they sign and certify the results.
Leading up to Election Day, political parties choose the slate of electors for each state, ensuring that their chosen electors will cast their votes in alignment with the election results. After the votes are cast, they are counted and certified by each state. Under the 2022 Electoral Count Reform Act, states must certify the election results no later than six days before the electors meet, which traditionally happens on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December.
The 2022 reform also places responsibility on each state to appoint a designated official—typically the governor, unless otherwise specified—who is tasked with submitting the "certificate of ascertainment." This certificate identifies the state's electors and includes a security feature to ensure the integrity of the process.
2024 Election Results: Trump Triumphs
In the 2024 election, Donald Trump clinched a victory with 312 Electoral College votes, surpassing Kamala Harris, who secured 226 votes. Trump also dominated the national popular vote, earning 77.2 million votes, while Harris garnered 75 million votes. The full breakdown of these results can be found in the detailed state-by-state report that follows.
Breaking Down Electoral Votes by State
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, and to win the presidency, a candidate must secure a majority—270 electoral votes. Each state’s allocation of electoral votes is determined by its number of representatives in the House, plus two senators. This formula ensures that every state has at least three electors.
Forty-eight states, along with Washington, D.C., follow a winner-takes-all rule, meaning that the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state receives all of that state's electoral votes. However, Maine and Nebraska are different. These states allocate their electors based on the winner of the popular vote in each Congressional district, with an additional two "at-large" electors determined by the statewide popular vote.
Do Electors Have to Follow State Results?
The electors are expected to vote in line with the results of their state’s popular vote, but the U.S. Constitution doesn’t explicitly require them to do so. In practice, most states have laws that nullify the votes of "faithless electors"—those who fail to cast their vote according to the popular vote outcome. In a landmark decision in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have the authority to penalize these faithless electors, effectively reinforcing the integrity of the Electoral College process.
Throughout history, there have been instances of electors casting votes contrary to the results of their state's election. FairVote, a nonpartisan organization, reports that 90 "deviant" votes for president have been cast since the inception of the Electoral College. Interestingly, the majority of these cases were not deliberate deviations but were instead due to the death of a nominee. Additionally, there have been 75 faithless electors for vice president, bringing the total to 165 throughout U.S. history.
One of the more controversial episodes involving electors occurred in the aftermath of the 2020 election. In a number of battleground states that were won by President Biden, a group of Republican electors, known as "fake electors," still met to cast their votes for Trump. This effort, which was part of a broader plan to challenge the legitimacy of Biden's victory, resulted in state criminal charges being filed in Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada. Special Counsel Jack Smith, in the context of charging Trump for attempting to overturn the election, emphasized that these fake electors were key players in the orchestrated effort to change the results. However, with Trump’s 2024 victory, those charges were dismissed.
Certification of Electoral Votes: What Happens Next?
Once the electors cast their votes, the results are signed and certified, marking a pivotal point in the election process. These results are sent to Vice President Harris, who serves as the president of the Senate. The electoral vote certificates must be received no later than the fourth Wednesday in December—in 2024, that deadline falls on December 25.
Next, the archivist of the U.S. will transmit the certificates to Congress. This is typically done before the new Congress convenes on January 3, 2025. On January 6, 2025, Congress will meet in a joint session to officially count the Electoral College votes, with Vice President Harris overseeing the proceedings. Once the votes are tallied, Harris will announce the winner of the election.
The Inauguration: Trump Takes the Oath
The final step in this process occurs on January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, will take the oath of office at the presidential inauguration. This marks the official beginning of Trump’s second term in office, following a victory that was both hard-fought and historically significant.
The Bottom Line
The Electoral College, though often misunderstood, plays a vital role in the American election system. It’s not just a ceremonial step in the process—it’s a system designed to ensure that every state has a say in the presidential election. While the rules can sometimes seem confusing, especially when it comes to faithless electors or the allocation of electoral votes, the overall process is built to reflect the will of the people, with safeguards to preserve the integrity of the election.
As the final certification of the 2024 election results approaches, the excitement will only build. With Trump’s victory confirmed in the Electoral College, all eyes will now be on the certification and the joint session of Congress. The new year will bring the country closer to the historic inauguration of a new president and vice president. The events of January 6 and January 20 will be watched closely by millions, as the U.S. enters a new chapter in its political history.
Login