September 3, 2020
The Electoral College: a 2020 Presidential Election Timeline
Introduction
nominated by each party is equal to the state’s number of
During the course of a presidential election year, the
electoral votes. Most elector-candidates are nominated by
election process for the President and Vice President goes
their state party central committees or at a state party
forward within a familiar timeline of events. At the same
convention. Elector-candidates may not be U.S. Senators,
time these events are taking place, a related series of
U.S. Representatives, or anyone holding an “Office of Trust
procedures that governs the actions of the electoral college
or Profit under the United States.” In practice, nominees
progresses on a parallel track. This report focuses on the
tend to be a mixture of state and local elected officials,
electoral college timeline for the 2020 presidential election.
party activists, local and state celebrities, and ordinary
For additional information on the electoral college in
citizens.
today’s presidential election process, see CRS Report
RL32611, The Electoral College: How It Work s in
Faithless Electors: Are Electors Independent or
Contemporary Presidential Elections, by Thomas H. Neale.
Bound to Vote for the People’s Choice?
The role of presidential electors has been widely debated.
Presidential Elections: The Nomination
Some observers claim they are free agents, while others
and Election Campaign Timeline
maintain they must vote for the candidates to whom they
In a presidential election year, campaigns for the nation’s
are pledged, although this is not required by the
highest offices include a number of sequential processes
Constitution. From time to time, some of these “faithless
and events that take place over a period that may begin
electors” have voted against their party’s nominees,
years before election day. Broadly defined, these include
although they have never influenced a presidential election
the informal campaign of candidate declarations,
outcome. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia
fundraising, organizing, and intraparty debates (various
have laws or party regulations in place that require electors
start times through February of the election year); the
to vote for the people’s choice in their state; in some states
formal nomination campaign, in which candidates contest
faithless electors may be replaced or may be subject to
nominating caucuses and primaries (February-July); the
various penalties.
national party conventions, where the presidential and vice
presidential candidates are nominated (July-August); the
July 6, 2020: Supreme Court Ruling on Faithless
general election campaign (August-November), including
Electors, Chiafolo v. Washington
presidential and vice presidential debates (September-
The constitutionality of state measures to prohibit or
October); and general election day, November 3, 2020.
penalize faithless electors has been debated for many years.
On July 6, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Chiafolo v.
The Electoral College Timeline: May
Washington that state laws penalizing or replacing faithless
2020-January 6, 2021
electors are constitutionally valid. For further information
During the election campaign, a series of events related to
and a legal analysis, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10515,
the electoral college’s operations proceeds on a parallel
Supreme Court Clarifies Rules for Electoral College: States
timeline, which overlaps both the nomination and general
May Restrict Faithless Electors, which explains the Court’s
election timelines . It includes nomination of candidates for
decision and reviews its broader implications.
the office of elector; choice of the electors by the voters on
general election day; ascertainment of the results in the
November 3, 2020: General Election Day
states; meetings and votes by electors in their respective
General election day for electors for the President and Vice
states; and reporting the results as directed by law. It
President is set by law (3 U.S.C. §1) as the Tuesday after
culminates with the joint session of Congress at which the
the first Monday in November in presidential election
electoral votes are counted and the President and Vice
years. Voters cast a single vote for a joint ticket of their
President are declared to be elected. The electoral college
preferred candidates for President and Vice President.
timeline is governed by the U.S. Code at 3 U.S.C. §§1-18,
When they do so, they are actually voting for the electors
the Twelfth and Twentieth Amendments to the
committed to support those candidates.
Constitution, and state laws and political party rules .
November 4-December 14, 2020: Counting the
May-August 2020: Candidates for Elector
Popular Vote and Filing Certificates of
Nominated
Ascertainment
State political party organizations and other groups on the
Following election day, the states are to count and
general election ballot, including minor parties and
eventually certify the vote according to their respective
independent candidates, nominate a ticket (or slate) of
statutory and procedural requirements. When the states
candidates for the office of elector for President and Vice
have completed the vote count and ascertained the official
President in each state. The number of elector-candidates
results, the U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §6) requires the state
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The Electoral Col ege: a 2020 Presidential Election Timeline
governors to prepare, “as soon as practicable,” Certificates
officers by the fourth Wednesday in December—in 2020,
of Ascertainment of the vote. The certificates must list the
December 23 (3 U.S.C. §12).
names of the electors chosen by the voters and the number
of votes received in the popular election results, the names
Failure to Deliver Certificates by December 23,
of all other candidates for elector, and the number of votes
2020
they received. Certificates of Ascertainment, which are
If the certificates from any state have not been delivered by
often signed by state governors, must also carry the seal of
December 23, 2020, the President of the Senate, or in their
the state. One copy is forwarded to the Archivist of the
absence the Archivist, is required to request the secretary of
United States (the Archivist), while six duplicate copies of
state or equivalent officer in that state to send one of the
the Certificate of Ascertainment must be provided to the
copies they hold to the President of the Senate by registered
electoral college delegation in each state, not later than the
mail (3 U.S.C. §12, 13). The Code also directs them to send
date on which they are scheduled to meet—December 14,
a messenger to the judge of the U.S. district court in the
2020.
state directing the judge to transmit the certificate they hold
by “hand ... to the seat of government.”
December 8, 2020: The “Safe Harbor” Deadline
The U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §5) provides that in a contested
January 6, 2021: Joint Session of Congress to Count
election in any state, if the state, prior to election day, has
Electoral Votes and Declare Official Election
enacted procedures to settle controversies or contests over
Results
electors and electoral votes, and if these procedures have
On January 6, or another date set by law, the Senate and
been applied, and results have been determined six days
House of Representatives assemble at 1:00 pm in joint
before the electors’ meetings, these results are considered to
session at the Capitol, in the House chamber, to count the
be conclusive, and will apply in the counting of the
electoral votes and declare the results (3 U.S.C. §15). The
electoral votes. This date, known as the “Safe Harbor”
Vice President presides as President of the Senate. The Vice
deadline, falls on December 8 in 2020. The governor of any
President opens the certificates and presents them to four
state where there was a contest, and in which the contest
tellers, two from each chamber. The tellers read and make a
was decided according to established state procedures, is
list of the returns. When the votes have been ascertained
required (3 U.S.C. §6) to send a certificate describing the
and counted, the tellers transmit them to the Vice President.
form and manner by which the determination was made to
If one of the tickets has received a majority of 270 or more
the Archivist as soon as practicable.
electoral votes, the Vice President announces the results,
which “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the
December 14, 2020: Electoral Col ege Delegations
persons, if any, elected President and Vice President.”
Meet and Vote
Challenges to Electoral Vote Returns
Monday after the second Wednesday in December of
While the tellers announce the results, Members may object
presidential election years is set (3 U.S.C. §7) as the date on
to the returns from any individual state as they are
which the electors meet and cast their votes. In 2020, the
announced. Objections to individual state returns must be
meeting date falls on December 14. Electoral college
made in writing by at least one Member each of the Senate
delegations meet separately in their respective states and the
and House of Representatives. If an objection meets these
District of Columbia at places designated by the state
requirements, the joint session recesses and the two houses
legislature. The electors vote by paper ballot, casting one
separate and debate the question in their respective
ballot for President and one for Vice President. The electors
chambers for a maximum of two hours. The two houses
count the results and then sign six certificates, each of
then vote separately to accept or reject the objection. They
which contains two lists, one including votes for the
then reassemble in joint session, and announce the results of
President, the other votes for the Vice President, each of
their respective votes. An objection to a state’s electoral
which includes the names of persons receiving votes and
vote must be approved by both houses in order for any
the number of votes cast for them. These are known as
contested votes to be excluded. For additional information,
Certificates of the Vote, which the electors are required to
see CRS Report RL32717, Counting Electoral Votes: An
sign. They then pair the six Certificates of Ascertainment
Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including
provided by the state governors with the Certificates of the
Objections by Members of Congress, coordinated by
Vote, and sign, seal, and certify them (3 U.S.C. §§8-10).
Elizabeth Rybicki and L. Paige Whitaker.
The six certificates are then dispatched by registered mail to
the officials listed below: (1) one certificate to the President
January 20, 2021: The President and Vice President
of the U.S. Senate (the Vice President); (2) two certificates
Are Inaugurated
to the secretary of state of the state or equivalent state
On this date, the President and Vice President are to be
officer of the jurisdiction in which the electors met; (3) two
inaugurated. The Twentieth Amendment set the date for
certificates to the Archivist; and (4) one certificate to the
inaugurations as January 20, beginning in 1937. Since
judge of the U.S. district court of the district in which the
1981, the ceremony has, with one exception, been held on
electors met (3 U.S.C. §11).
the West Front of the Capitol. The Vice President takes the
oath first, followed at noon by the President.
December 23, 2020: Results Delivered to
Designated Officials
Thomas H. Neale, Specialist in American National
Certificates of electoral vote results from the states and the
Government
District of Columbia must be delivered to above mentioned
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The Electoral Col ege: a 2020 Presidential Election Timeline


Disclaimer
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