Electoral College set to vote to make Biden’s 2020 victory official

WASHINGTON — The Electoral College on Monday is expected to make President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election official.

All 538 electors are will meet in their respective states to cast their votes for president based on the election results that were recently certified by all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Dec. 13, 202001:23

Most electors, who were chosen by political parties in each state ahead of the November election, are expected to cast their ballots in state Capitol buildings.

The first states set to vote Monday are Indiana, Tennessee and Vermont, which will take place at 10 a.m. ET. Battleground states that have been hotly contested with legal challenges by President Donald Trump vote a little later — Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania’s electors are slated to vote at noon, while Wisconsin’s are scheduled to vote at 1 p.m. and Michigan’s at 2 p.m.

In Michigan, the state Capitol will be closed during the vote because of threats of violence and anticipated protests.

California, which has 55 Electoral College votes, the most of any state, and could put Biden over the top is set to vote at 5 p.m. ET

Biden is expected to deliver remarks in prime time about the Electoral College vote around 8 p.m. ET.

Trump and a number of Republican officials tried to overturn the results in battleground states, but the Supreme Court rejected that attempt on Friday night. Trump has repeatedly said since the Nov. 3 election that he won by a landslide and that the election was rigged.

Biden, however, was deemed president-elect on Nov. 7, four days after the election, once he surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Ultimately, Biden received 306 electoral votes while Trump won 232.

On Jan. 6 at 1 p.m. ET, the Electoral College votes will be counted in a joint session of Congress. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will then be sworn into office on Jan. 20.

On Thanksgiving, Trump told reporters it would be a “very hard thing to concede” the election even when the Electoral College finalizes Biden’s win. He said, “If they do, they’ve made a mistake.” When asked whether he would leave the White House under that outcome, Trump said, “Certainly I will.”