What time does the Electoral College vote start today?

The 538 Electoral College electors from across the US will meet on Monday to cast their ballots for the next president.

The electors will travel to their state capitals and Washington, DC, to officially cast the ballots at numerous different times on Monday.

Electors, who are often nominated by the majority party of the state to pledge support to the nominee, have confirmed the state’s results in every US presidential election since the first in 1789.

The event comes more than a month after President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 US election, when he won 306 electoral votes compared to President Donald Trump’s 232.

Electors casting their ballots is generally a formality, but the event this year comes after five weeks of President Trump contesting the result and falsely claiming that widespread fraud took place.

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Mr Trump and his team have had more than 50 legal challenges dismissed over the last month, while the US Supreme Court rejected an effort from his Republican allies in several states on Friday, which attempted to set aside 62 electoral votes in four states.

Although attempts by Mr Trump and his team to overturn the presidential election results are ongoing, the electors are expected to confirm the victory for Mr Biden on Monday.

Biden is then expected to address the nation on Monday evening.

What time are the electors meeting?

Federal law dictates that the electors meet on the “Monday after the second Wednesday in December of presidential election years.”

Some electors will meet in their state capitals on Monday, while others will gather in Washington, DC, depending on the rules outlined in individual state legislatures.

Although the location and time of each meeting is dictated by individual states, the first votes can be officially cast from 10am local time.

Illinois, Indiana and Oklahoma are scheduled to be the first states to cast their ballots at 10am, while Massachusetts is the latest set for 3pm.

Numerous states do not have a time scheduled, but 2pm is the most common one decided, with nine states including California and Texas choosing it for Monday’s event.

What is expected to happen on Monday?

Each elector will cast one vote for the US president and vice-president by paper ballot on Monday, which is expected to be for the candidate who was declared the winner in the state.

After the votes have been tallied, the electors then sign six certificates with the results.

The certificates are sent to the archivist of the United States, the US vice president, the secretary of state and the judge of the district court where the electors in each state met.

The presidential candidate who receives a majority of the votes across the US will then formally be elected to the White House.

What happens after Monday?

Although the state’s votes are final, the event on Monday does not officially end the process for deciding the next US president.

On 6 January, a joint session of the US Senate and House of Representatives will meet to count all of the electoral votes.

One Republican representative, Mo Brooks of Alabama, is expected to object to the electors chosen for several states, according to ABC News.

However, this is not expected to delay the process for more than a few hours, while the members of the House and the Senate vote on whether to accept the electors that have been challenged.

All of the states bar Wisconsin are now protected by safe harbour status, which means the votes submitted by the slate of electors must be accepted, as legal challengers and recounts have been decided.

After any challenges are made, the joint session on 6 January is expected to confirm Mr Biden as the next president of the US.

He will then be inaugurated on 20 January at a pared-down ceremony in Washington, DC.