CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Jan. 7, 2009 – 7:37 p.m.
It’s Official, Finally: Congress to Count Obama’s Electoral College Victory
By Bart Jansen, CQ Staff
Congress will count the Electoral College votes for president and vice president Thursday in an exercise that has great meaning but holds absolutely no suspense.
Both chambers will meet in joint session at about 1 p.m. to officially count the votes. (Although the House will gavel in at 10 a.m., the chamber will then recess for a security sweep before the counting.)
Spoiler alert: Democrat Barack Obama wins with 365 votes against Republican John McCain ’s 173 votes.
It’s not always this easy. Rep. David Dreier of California, a parliamentarian from his perch as ranking Republican on the House Rules Committee, sat in the front row in 2001 as Vice President Al Gore, acting in his constitutional capacity as president of the Senate, supervised the Electoral College counting that installed his rival, George W. Bush , as president.
“Al Gore had to preside over his own defeat,” Dreier said.
No such drama is expected Thursday, though Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., may be present, along with Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. , D-Del., who is still a senator.
Vice President Dick Cheney will open and present the certificates of the votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in alphabetical order. Each certificate is then read by tellers from each chamber — this year, it will be Senate Rules Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif., and ranking Republican Robert F. Bennett of Utah, with their counterparts from the House Administration Committee, Chairman Robert A. Brady , D-Pa., and ranking Republican Vernon J. Ehlers of Michigan.
The formal reading can be dispensed with, as happened in 1997, which shorted the session to 24 minutes.
Members could also object to a certificate in writing, which could prompt the chambers to separate, debate and vote. But this has happened only twice since the 1887 law that set up the joint sessions, and neither resulted in a change in the vote.
In 1969, two lawmakers objected to an elector who cast his vote for George Wallace rather than Richard Nixon, but both chambers rejected the objection. In 2005, two lawmakers objected to disputed Ohio votes, but again they were rejected.
Asked whether she expected any surprises Thursday, Feinstein replied, “None.”
Comments
"In 2005, two lawmakers objected to disputed Ohio votes, but again they were rejected." Umm ?! You compose this statement as if the "objections" were some rogue [extremely partisan] maneuver! One of those very people you refer to is a Stephanie Tubbs, who was passionately protesting the acts of electoral malfeasance and what were ILLEGAL and fraudulent vote totals from the state of Ohio. Nice job CQ, perfectly winnowed down to the essential components to remove the actual FACTS. Good night to you insects.
Get ahold of yourself. The only thing wrong with Ohio's votes in 2004 is left wing loons trying to pretend that they were somehow tainted. That said, congratulations to the President-elect.
And in 2004 one of John Kerry's electors voted for John Edwards. It seems there have been numerous instances of Electors going "rogue" over the decades. As I understand it there is no official enforcement means to prevent this from happening.
I recall some sort of protest/ dispute in 2001 over the votes from Florida. It failed for lack of a Senator to second the objecion.
Will anyone stand-up and question Obama's eligibility? www.JoeSixPack.me
"Get ahold of yourself. The only thing wrong with Ohio's votes in 2004 is left wing loons trying to pretend that they were somehow tainted. That said, congratulations to the President-elect." I don't really care about anyone's post here but I must admit, you people are clueless or fucking right wing bot buddies...I mean for the love of GOD! Let's just say, perhaps, Florida 2000, is the same thing they have been doing for years, disenfranchisement, voter roll purging, etc. ...ultimately it came down to a SCOTUS ruling. But...as to Ohio in 2004, I think any of you who don't know that the electoral vote in Ohio was stolen outright, are deliberately and certifiably clueless. argghhh.
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