From another IDW Group: Updated October 22, 2020
The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline

[crsreports.congress.gov]

November 4-December 14, 2020: Counting Popular
Votes and Filing Certificates of Ascertainment
Following election day, the states are to count and certify
popular vote results according to their respective statutory
and procedural requirements. When the states have
completed their vote counts and ascertained the official
results, the U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §6) requires the state
governors to prepare, “as soon as practicable,” documents
known as Certificates of Ascertainment of the vote.The
certificates must list the names of the electors chosen by the
voters and the number of votes received in the popular
election results, also the names of all losing candidates for
elector, and the number of votes they received. Certificates
of Ascertainment, which are often signed by state
governors, must carry the seal of the state.One copy is
forwarded to the Archivist of the United States
(the Archivist), while six duplicates of the Certificate of
Ascertainment must be provided to the electors by

December 14, the date on which they meet.
December 8, 2020: The “Safe Harbor” Deadline
The U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §5) provides that if election
results are contested in any state, and if the state, prior to
election day, has enacted procedures to settle controversies
or contests over electors and electoral votes, and if these
procedures have been applied, and the results have been
determined six days before the electors’ meetings, then
these results are considered to be conclusive, and will apply
in the counting of the electoral votes. This date, known as
the “Safe Harbor” deadline, falls on December 8 in 2020.
The governor of any state where there was a contest, and in
which the contest was decided according to established
state procedures, is required (3 U.S.C. §6) to send a
certificate describing the form and manner by which the
determination was made to the Archivist as soon as
practicable.

December 14, 2020: Electors Vote in Their States
Monday after the second Wednesday in December of
presidential election years is set (3 U.S.C. §7) as the date on
which the electors meet and vote. In 2020, the meeting is on
December 14. Electoral college delegations meet separately
in their respective states and the District of Columbia at
places designated by their state legislature.The electors
vote by paper ballot, casting one ballot for President and
one for Vice President. The electors count the results and
then sign six certificates, each of which contains two lists,
one of which includes the electoral votes for the President,
the other, electoral votes for the Vice President, each of
which includes the names of persons receiving votes and
the number of votes cast for them. These are known as
Certificates of the Vote, which the electors are required to
sign. They then pair the six Certificates of Ascertainment
provided by the state governors with the Certificates of the
Vote, and sign, seal, and certify them(3 U.S.C. §§8-10).
The six certificates are then distributed by registered mail
as follows: (1) one certificate to the President of the U.S.
Senate (the Vice President); (2)two certificates to the
secretary of state (or equivalent officer) of the statein
which the electors met; (3) two certificates to the Archivist;
and (4) one certificate to the judge of the U.S. district court
of the district in which the electors met (3 U.S.C. §11).
December 23, 2020: Certificates Must Be Delivered
to the Designated Officials
Certificates of electoral vote results must be delivered to
above mentioned officers by the fourth Wednesday in
December, in 2020, by December 23 (3 U.S.C. §12).
Failure to Deliver Certificates by December 23
If the certificates from any state have not been delivered by
December 23, 2020, the President of the Senate, or in their
absence the Archivist, is required to request the secretary of
state or equivalent officer in that state to send one of the
copies they hold to the President of the Senate by registered
mail (3 U.S.C. §12, 13). The Code also directs them to send
a messenger to the judge of the U.S. district court in the
state directing the judge to transmit the certificate they hold
by “hand ...to the seat of government.”

January 6, 2021: Joint Session of Congress to Count
Electoral Votes and Declare Election Results Meets
On January 6, or another date set by law, the Senate and
House of Representatives assemble at 1:00 p.m. in a joint
session at the Capitol, in the House chamber, to count the
electoral votes and declare the results(3 U.S.C. §15). The
Vice President presides as President of the Senate. The Vice
President opens the certificates and presents them to four
tellers, two from each chamber. The tellers read and make a
list of the returns. When the votes have been ascertained
and counted, the tellers transmit them to the Vice President.
If one of the tickets has received a majority of 270 or more
electoral votes, the Vice President announces the results,
which “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the
persons, if any, elected President and Vice President.”
Joint Session Challenges to Electoral Vote Returns
While the tellers announce the results, Members may object
to the returns from any individual state as they are
announced. Objections to individual state returns must be
made in writing by at least one Member each of the Senate
and House of Representatives. If an objection meets these
requirements, the joint session recesses and the two houses
separate and debate the question in their respective
chambers for a maximum of two hours. The two houses
then vote separately to accept or reject the objection. They
then reassemble in joint session, and announce the results of
their respective votes. An objection to a state’s electoral
vote must be approved by both houses in order for any
contested votes to be excluded. For additional information,
see CRS Report RL32717, Counting Electoral Votes: An
Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including
Objections by Members of Congress, coordinated by
Elizabeth Rybicki and L. Paige Whitaker.

January 20, 2021: Presidential Inauguration
On this date, the President and Vice President are to be
inaugurated. The Twentieth Amendment set the date for
inaugurations as January 20, beginning in 1937. Since
1981, the ceremony has, with one exception, been held on
the West Front of the Capitol. The Vice President takes the
oath first, followed at noon by the President.

Legislative Proposals to Extend the Post-Election
Electoral College Timeline
Concern has been expressed by some that contested or
delayed state popular vote results in the 2020 presidential
election might prolong counting and ascertainment of
results and encroach on the electoral college timeline. Two
bills introduced in the 116th Congress would extend the
time available for this process. S. 4517, introduced by
Senator Marco Rubio, would be effective for the 2020-2021
election. It would change the Safe Harbor date to January 1,
2021, and the date on which electors vote to January 2.
H.R. 8492, introduced by Representative David E. Price,
would change the Safe Harbor date and also reschedule the
electoral college meetings to the first day after January 1. It
would also expedite delivery of certificates of the electoral
vote and reschedule the joint session of Congress to count
electoral votes to the second day after a revised deadline for
election certificate delivery to the Vice President or the
Archivist.