In November 2020 the USA held a general election. People voted for the person that should govern them starting 20. January 2021. The voting process in the US is different form the one back in Germany. Following the media recently this becomes more and more apparent. Just like many others, I had no real clue whats going on down there so I took some time, researched and came up with some interesting facts. These facts are the content of this post.
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51 Local Elections
The General Election in the U.S. consists of 51 single local votes (all 50 states plus the District of Columbia). Every state holds its own local election all with there own requirements, regulations and deadlines. There is no federal agency or secretary that provides overall guidelines, counts votes or certifies results.
The outcome of a local election of a state has no direct influence on the presidency. Rather a local election proclaims which party will send the predefined amount of Electors to the Electoral College. In the end it is the Electoral College that really votes for the president. Electoral College wählt das Staatsoberhaupt.
Each state has another deadline for the canvassing and certification of election results. This deadline is defined by the state law. In California for example the deadline for the certification of election results is December, 11th. Hence, this is the latest date on which the Electors for the Electoral Colleges will be known. rechtlich festgelegten Zeitraum. In Kalifornien beispielsweise ist der Zeitpunkt für die Bekanntgabe des offiziellen Wahlergebnisses der 11. Dezember 2020. Kalifornien entsendet 55 Wahlmänner. Somit steht also spätestens am 11. Dezember 2020 fest, wie sich das Electoral College final zusammensetzt.
Sources:
- https://apnews.com/article/explain-us-vote-51-elections-dc-a481f4ce83645e603c59b5e0493dfcd4
- https://www.usa.gov/election-office
- https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/
- https://www.history.com/news/electors-chosen-electoral-college
- https://ballotpedia.org/State_Election_Result_Canvassing
- https://ballotpedia.org/How_and_when_are_election_results_finalized%3F_(2020)
- https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/after-the-voting-ends-the-steps-to-complete-an-election.aspx#map
- https://www.eac.gov/voters/register-and-vote-in-your-state
No Direct Election - Electors
General Election in the U.S. is an indirect election. American citizens, that are registered to vote, though casting their vote for one of the candidates for the presidency, are actually voting for a slate of electors. Electors are the outcome of a time consuming process within the parties. In each state parties select electors who themselves pledge to vote for the parties candidate once they come together in the Electoral College .
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. The amount if electors equals the amount of representatives of the state in congress plus 2 for the senate. The Electoral College takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December of an election year. They meet within the state and vote for their respective candidate. Electors are required to vote for the parties candidate that after all named him or her an Elector . A candidate is elected president if he or her gets at least 270 of the 538 votes.
So, on election day Voters are voting for ElectorsIn almost all of the states (except Nebraska and Maine) the winner of the popular vote wins all of the electoral votes. This is called the winner-takes-all-system. slate of electors mit den meisten Stimmen gewinnt den gesamten Bundesstaat und die entsprechenden Electors stimmen im Electoral College ab. Nebraska and Maine have a different approach. Out of each state 2 electors are sent to Electoral College from the party winning the states popular vote plus 3 Electors in Nebraska and 2 Electors in Maine of the party winning the congressional districts. Therefore, Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that can send Electors of both parties to the Electoral College Electoral College.
Sources:
- https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-2/
- https://app-usa-modeast-prod-a01239f-ecas.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf6099%20%283%29.pdf
- https://www.usa.gov/election
- https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about
- https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/electors
- https://www.history.com/news/electors-chosen-electoral-college
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-Electoral-College-Votes-by-State-1787124
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine%27s_congressional_districts
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska’s_congressional_districts
A secret election? - Register to Vote
A vote in the General Election in the U.S. is a secret vote. In order to vote, american citizens in all states (except North Dakota) a required to be registered to vote. Once registered they are Voters. Registration can be done online or in person. In-person registration is possible in a local election office, the department of Motor Vehicles or using the National Mail Voter Registration Form.
Voters in most states will be provided with a voter registration card containing information not only but also on the poll location. On election day Voters have to identify and are handed their ballot. Not surprisingly the requirements and deadlines for registration and identification as well as the voting process itself differ from state to state.
However, not absolutely secret is a vote, if it is not given in-person at the polling station. If a Voter cannot vote in-person he or she can order an Absentee/Mail-in-Ballot. These ballots are signed on the envelope and returned to the election office. Theoretically speaking it would be possible to identify a ballot and its content this way.
Sources:
- https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote
- https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration-card
- https://www.usa.gov/election-office
- https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/eoddomestic.htm
- https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/state-elections/state-election-dates-deadlines.htm
- https://www.voteriders.org/staterules/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_registration_in_the_United_States
- https://www.eac.gov/voters/register-and-vote-in-your-state
- https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-11-receipt-and-postmark-deadlines-for-absentee-ballots.aspx
Order an Absentee/mail-in ballot
A vote must not be cast in-person or on election day. In the U.S. Voter can vote early or by mail. For Absentee/mail-in voting a voter has to order a ballot from the local election office. This can be done in-person, by mail or online. Again, the deadline for ordering an absentee ballot are defined by each state individually. Three states allow the in-person order of absentee ballot on election day (California, Maryland, New Jersey).
Absentee-mail-in ballots can be returned to the local election office in-person or by mail. The deadline for the returning of such ballots is subject to the states law. Many states allow returning the ballots until election day.
Absentee/Mail-in-Ballots must be processed before they can be counted. Processing includes verification of the Voters identity mostly by comparing the signature on the ballot envelope to a signature on record (e. g. drivers licence). Some states allow voters to follow-up on their ballot and complete or correct it in case of the ballot being neglected for some reason. Processing ballots also includes a number of checks concerning formal aspects.
When a ballot is processed and registered as legal it can and will be counted. Deadlines for the beginning of the processing of absentee-mail-in ballots depends on the state. Some states start processing upon return of a ballot, others do ot allow the processing to start after the polling stations are closed on election day.
- 17 states allow start of processing absentee/mail-in ballots before election day
- 16 states allow start of processing absentee/mail-in ballots on election day and before polling stations close
- 17 states allow start of processing absentee/mail-in ballots on election day and after polling stations close
Sources:
- https://ballotpedia.org/Absentee/mail-in_voting
- https://ballotpedia.org/When_states_can_begin_processing_and_counting_absentee/mail-in_ballots,_2020
- https://ballotpedia.org/How_do_election_workers_match_signatures%3F_(2020)
- https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/electionofficials/vbm/Signature_Verification_Cure_Process.pdf
- https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-28/2020-election-voter-signature-verification
- https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-16-when-absentee-mail-ballot-processing-and-counting-can-begin.aspx
- https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/after-the-voting-ends-the-steps-to-complete-an-elections.aspx#map
Media Calling Races
Since there is no federal agency holding and controlling the election, there is no federal institution counting the vote and proclaiming results. When the deadline for certification of the election result is past, each county must publish the official results and in most states the secretary of state publishes the official result for the state. However, until this very moment there is no governmental institution or something that counts and combines the results of the 51 local elections.
Due to this, the media took this position. News outlets have representatives and frelancers in all states, observing and reporting on the election. They work close with local election officials and collect the unofficial results given on election day or in election week. Media outlets tabularize these numbers, do their magic with numbers in so called Decision desks and in the end publish a proclaimed result for the states.
Ever since Civil War The Associated Press is a trusted source for the reporting on and the calling of races. But other news outlets as well use the same procedures to report the election and proclaim results for states. Twitter on November, 2nd officially published a list of seven news outlets that they will rely on calling election races:
The mechanism used by the media outlets to come to their conclusions are not the same. Therefore it is no wonder that unofficial results can differ between the different agencies.
Sources:
- https://www.ap.org/en-us/topics/politics/elections/counting-the-vote#form-help
- https://www.ap.org/en-us/topics/politics/elections/ap-votecast/about
- https://apnews.com/article/why-does-media-call-races-us-elections-20e9b5688aa0b7404648ea74b1c2f4dc
- https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/calling-the-2020-presidential-race-state-by-state
- https://www.ap.org/en-us/topics/politics/elections/how-we-call-races
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/nbc-news-decision-desk-how-we-call-races-election-night-n1245481
Schedule
The whole election process does not start and is not over on election day. almost three months pass by between election day (November, 3rd) and the inauguration of the next president (January, 20th).
Election day is always the first Tuesday of November in an election year. The U.S. Constitution orders this General Election to be held in all states at the same day. This is the day on which Votersdecide, which Electors will build the Electoral College Electoral College.
For most Americans the election is decided as soon as the media call the election race for one of the candidates. The fact that this is actually nothing but a prognosis and the next steps leading to the actual election of the president in the Electoral College are unknown to most.
On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December of an election year the Electoral College Electoral College gathers in each state an elects the head of the nation.
This vote by the Electors vote according to their oath in the Electoral College Electoral College is ratified by congress on 6th of January 2021 and the official result of the general election is declared by the Head of the Senate (the Vice-president, currently Mike Pence).
- 3. November 2020 – Voters cast vote for Slate of Electors ab
- 3. November 2020 to 11. December 2020 - Count, canvass and certification of votes in all states
- 14. Dezember 2020 – Electoral College Electoral College votes the president
- 6. January 2021 - Congress confirm president
- 20. January 2021 - Inauguration Day
Conclusion
All the given facts help to understand the current situation in the U.S. (as of November, 15th 2020). President-elect Joe Biden is not yet officially elected to be the next president, despite the media having called the race.
The President of the United States is officially elected by the Electoral College Electoral College and hence on the 16th of December 2020. Therefore, the Trump administration is able to doubt the current unofficial results. However, this does not mean, these unofficial results given by the media are false. If the current situation is confirmed and all Electors vote according to their oath in the Electoral College Electoral College , and if the congress confirms the vote of the Electoral College, Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Whatever happens until and within Electoral College Electoral College is yet unknown. There are some General Elections in the U.S. history, in which Faithless Electorsin the Electoral College did not vote according to the popular vote of their state.
Update (16th November 2020): Therefore, president Trump is wrong saying:
If you take tour time an collect all the certified results from all of the states (which is a huge effort, since some states only publish by county), the current official results (as of November 15th, 2020) are as follow:
| Staat | Link | Biden | Trump |
| Delaware (Nov 5) | Wahlergebnis | 3 | |
| Vermont (Nov 10) | Wahlergebnis | 1 | |
| South Dakota (Nov 10) | Wahlergebnis | 3 | |
| Oklahoma (Nov 10) | Wahlergebnis | 7 | |
| Louisiana (Nov 10) | Wahlergebnis | 8 | |
| Wyoming (Nov 11) | Wahlergebnis | 3 | |
| South Carolina (Nov 11) | Wahlergebnis | 9 | |
| Mississippi (Nov 13) | nicht bestätigt |
The procedure is nothing new. All general elections faced the fact that no official results had been published before the states certified them. So all the results presented in the media have always been unofficial. So why is there so much fuzz this year? This is due to the lack of a Concession Speech from the current president Donald Trump. The Concessions Speech is a speech held by the candidate that did not win the election according to the results called by the media. This is an American tradition but is not forced or backed up by any laws or regulations.
- https://ballotpedia.org/Election_results_certification_dates,_2020
- https://ballotpedia.org/How_and_when_are_election_results_finalized%3F_(2020)
- https://youtu.be/WZWRhLW7Y8w
More
Websites
Results according to the outlets
- https://abcnews.go.com/Elections/2020-us-presidential-election-results-live-map
- https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/calling-the-2020-presidential-race-state-by-state
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/live-election-results-2020-presidential/
- https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/president
- https://results.decisiondeskhq.com/
- https://www.foxnews.com/elections/2020/general-results
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/president-results?icid=election_usmap?icid=election_usmap
Results from other sources
One reply on “US-Wahl 2020”
Vielen Dank, Tilo, für diese umfassende Zusammenstellung! Mein Favorit ist das Video „Why Tuesday?“.