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Spanish – Monday, December 14, was the second step in the complex process of electing the president of the United States. The members of the Electoral College cast their votes. As has been the tradition, they ratified the election day result, which- according to media projections- gave 306 electoral votes to Democrat Joe Biden and 232 to Republican Donald Trump. This scenario was maintained, while President Donald Trump assures that he is pursuing his legal battle to prove that an alleged fraud was committed.
The vote on Monday afternoon showed 302 electoral votes for Biden and 232 for Trump, according to EFE. The four votes from Hawaii, where the Democrat won the popular vote, were yet to be confirmed.
The December 14 vote took place amid “credible threats of violence.” This was the scenario in Michigan, where security forces closed the Capitol in the middle of the Electoral College vote, according to Europa Press.
In other states, security measures were also increased in response to the call for protests. In Pennsylvania, voters were escorted, and in Arizona, the state Electoral College meeting was held in a secret location.
Trump, the focus of Biden’s speech
Thus, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris officially become president and vice president-elect. However, there is still one last step to the final proclamation.
Earlier in the evening, Joe Biden gave his first speech as president-elect. Donald Trump was the focus of his address. The Democrat was adamant that the Republican leader’s attempts to reverse the results should be stopped, accusing him of “abuse of power, intimidation, and threats,” according to CNN.
On January 6, Congress will certify the results in a joint session chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. The Republican leader is not giving up on his crusade to prove that the elections were “the most fraudulent in history,” as he reiterated on Sunday.
Although congressional certification has traditionally been a mere formality, Trump will not rest for the next three weeks. His purpose is to be able to show compelling evidence that will allow him to move forward legally to play his last card on Capitol Hill.
What’s left for Trump in the courts?
After several setbacks, on Monday, before the Electoral College vote, Trump won what could be considered the biggest victory in his long court battle. A Michigan judge authorized the release of the report on the forensic audit of 22 Dominion Voting System voting machines in Antrim County, Michigan. The result points to intentional errors to influence the election. The allowable error rate of .0008% was 68% for the machines audited, the report states.
On the other hand, the biggest blow would be the setback in the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the weekend, the highest court in the country dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General seeking to challenge the elections in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This action sought to determine that there were violations of the constitution in these states.
The unfavorable decision in court was not one of substance but of form. The judges of the highest court never rejected the evidence because they simply did not review it. The case was dismissed on the grounds that the Texas lawsuit could not proceed because Texas had no jurisdiction to interfere in the organization of elections in other states. Moreover, this case could not directly qualify as a defeat for Trump because it was not a lawsuit filed by his attorneys.
This would leave open the possibility of knocking on this door again. The legal team, headed by Rudy Giuliani, said Friday that they are considering filing separate lawsuits in district court.
Inevitably, the probate process must be concluded by January 20. Even if the election is contested in court, the federal constitution guarantees that the country has a president by the day of the swearing-in.
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