Back To 1876 And Mike Pence
Over the weekend, since the third Trump indictment, I've begun to see renewed references to the 1876 election, the Compromise of 1877, and the Electoral Count Act of 1887. Trump's strategy, given assertions that the 2020 vote counts in several states were irregular, was to throw the election into the House of Representatives per the Twelfth Amendment of the US Constitution, as intepreted by the Electoral Count Act of 1887. This post at the National Constitutional Center from December 15, 2020 , anticipates and explains this strategy: Federal law requires the states to deliver certified electoral college results to the vice president, serving as president of the Senate, and other parties by December 23. Then a joint meeting of Congress is required by the 12th Amendment to count the electoral votes and declare the winners of the presidential election. The session on January 6, 2021 starts at 1 p.m. Objections at that meeting about electors will be settled using a process ...