Electoral Count Act

• The Michigan attorney general on July 18, 2023, charged 16 people with felonies for participating in a 2020 fake electors scheme to interfere with the Electoral College and overturn their state’s presidential election results.
• But versions of the alleged crimes, reportedly set up by Trump’s presidential campaign, also occurred in six other battleground states.
• The Conversation has covered the nuts and bolts of the Electoral College and the intricacies it involves.

1. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., get electors

• “The winner of the popular vote in each state gets a certain number of electoral votes, and the candidate who collects at least 270 wins the presidency,” he explained.
• The number of electoral votes each state gets is partly determined by their total populations.
• In addition, each state gets two electors to correspond with the U.S. senators they have and one elector for each of their representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• The same is true for the District of Columbia, which is also guaranteed at least three electoral votes,” Tures wrote.

2. The electors’ role is essential to U.S. presidential elections

• The presidential election process in the U.S. is intricate and involves a lot of people – and time.
• As Amy Dacey, who directs an academic research center on politics at American University, wrote, certifying presidential elections in the U.S. is a four-month process.
• This is how it works: Every four years, Americans vote on the first Tuesday in November to elect a president.
• At that point, Electoral College electors’ duties are finished until the next presidential election.
• Read more:
  Who formally declares the winner of the US presidential election?

3. Congress certifies votes from the Electoral College

• The presidential election certification process itself concludes during a joint session of Congress in January, when members meet to tally the Electoral College votes.
• “The Electoral Count Act of 1887 requires Congress to convene and review – rather than simply rubber-stamp – Electoral College results,” he wrote.
• “To overturn an election result, Congress would have to disqualify enough electoral votes to deprive one candidate of the 270 votes needed to win.
• Read more:
  Why Trump's Senate supporters can't overturn Electoral College results they don't like – here's how the law actually works

4. Recent legislation should prevent future attempts to overturn the presidential election

• A new quiz tests how much they know about the Electoral College.
• A new A-Mark quiz on the electoral college helps people understand just how much they know about it.
• Although the term "Electoral College" does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, the elector concept is covered in Article II, Section 1.
• A full roster of the Foundation's research may be found at amarkfoundation.org , including its website examining the 2020 presidential election .