Under the Constitution, the final step in the 2020 presidential election is for a joint session of Congress to meet on Jan. 6 to count the Electoral College votes and officially declare a winner. Governors certified and sealed their states’ results after their electors signed off on them on Dec. 14, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won with 306 votes to Donald Trump and Mike Pence’s 232 votes.

This session is typically a ceremonial affair, but this year it’s expected to highlight the bitterly divided reaction between the two parties to the 2020 election results and last for hours.

Some of those members even acknowledged that they don’t expect to succeed or change the outcome, but are using the process to highlight what they believe are instances of fraud. None have provided any evidence to date, and legal challenges in states mounted by the Trump campaign and its allies have consistently failed.

How the joint session will work

Vice President Pence presides over the joint session, and it is his duty under the law to announce the results. Members of the House and Senate will convene in the House chamber at 1 p.m. ET.

The certificates from each state are opened and read in alphabetical order. If any House member raises an objection, they need a senator to sign the objection in order for it to be considered. According to GOP sources familiar with the discussions about the plans, the Republican lawmakers planning to object on Wednesday are focused primarily on three states — Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. They are also weighing challenges for Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.

Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz is expected to sign onto the challenge regarding Arizona’s results and press for the appointment of an electoral commission that can examine any claims related to voter fraud.

Process for considering and voting on an objection

If both a House member and senator register their objection in writing, the joint session is recessed, and the House and Senate meet separately to debate the issue for up to two hours. Members are allowed up to 5 minutes each to speak and then both chambers vote. A simple majority is needed in both chambers for an objection to succeed.

With social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic, voting takes longer, so each objection could result in multiple hours of debate and vote timing.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will preside over any House debate and has tapped Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Calif., Zoe Lofgren, Calif., Jamie Raskin, Md., and Joe Neguse, Colo., to lead any responses to GOP objections. But other Democrats from states Republicans are focused on are expected to also speak out against the effort as well.

In a letter to House Democrats on Monday evening, Pelosi called the day one “of historic significance” and says Biden and Harris won “decisively.” She cautioned that members should view the session as “a solemn occasion” and “we will have a civics lesson about protecting the integrity of our democracy.”

Pence, as president of the Senate, is expected to preside over the Senate debate. But Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is president pro tem, is prepared to also be available if Pence is not available for any portion of the debate. The president falsely claimed the vice president could alter the results, but neither the Constitution nor any federal law allows for that.

After the New York Times reported Tuesday that Pence told the president at a lunch at the White House that he does not have the ability to block the certification for Biden, Trump released a statement late in the evening calling that report “fake news.”

The statement from the president maintains: “The Vice President and I are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act” and the vice president has “several options under the U.S. Constitution.”

After each chamber votes — and no challenge is expected to garner enough to succeed — the members of House and Senate return to the joint session and move onto the next state. After they have processed all the results, Pence reads the final tally and announces the election results for the president and vice president.

Leaders have warned members the process is likely to last several hours and could involve late-night votes. Democrats hold the majority in the House and roughly two dozen Republicans in the Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have indicated they will join Democrats to certify Biden as the winner, so the outcome is not in doubt.

Thousands of pro-Trump protesters are expected to descend on Washington to voice support for the GOP objections. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has advised residents to stay away from downtown and local law enforcement is prepared to respond to any possible violent demonstrations.

Jackson Lee – “In short, the Commission aims to study the impact of slavery and continuing discrimination against African-Americans, resulting directly and indirectly from slavery to segregation to the desegregation process and the present day. The commission would also make recommendations concerning any form of apology and compensation to begin the long-delayed process of atonement for slavery.”

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Budget, and Homeland Security, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, issued this statement on the introduction of H.R. 40:

“The impact of slavery and its vestiges continues to affect African Americans and indeed all Americans in communities throughout our nation.  This is why I am pleased to submit H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act; today to the House of Representatives and then on the first day of legislative business, Monday, January 4th, 2021 introduce H.R.40.  This legislation is intended to examine the institution of slavery in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present, and further recommend appropriate remedies.  Since the initial introduction of this legislation, its proponents have made substantial progress in elevating the discussion of reparations and reparatory justice at the national level and joining the mainstream international debate on the issues.  Though some have tried to deflect the importance of these conversations by focusing on individual monetary compensation, the real issue is whether and how this nation can come to grips with the legacy of slavery that still infects current society. Through legislation, resolutions, news, and litigation, we are moving closer to making more strides in the movement toward reparations.

“I am proud to once again reintroduce this legislation on the first day of legislative business in the 117th Congress which is January 4, 2021. Especially following the tremendous support of this piece of historic legislation enjoyed in the last congress. In the 116th Congress, H.R. 40 had the support of 173 cosponsors. During the 117th Congress, we expect even more cosponsors to join.   The groundswell for this bill was so considerable in the last Congress that the House of Representatives held a major hearing on this matter to consider this legislation and passage.

“Today there are more people at the table — more activists, more scholars, more CEOs, more state and local officials, and more Members of Congress.  However, despite this progress and the election of the first American President of African descent, the legacy of slavery lingers heavily in this nation. While we have focused on the social effects of slavery and segregation, its continuing economic implications remain largely ignored by mainstream analysis. These economic issues are the root cause of many critical issues in the African American community today, such as education, healthcare, and criminal justice policy, including policing practices. The call for reparations represents a commitment to entering a constructive dialogue on the role of slavery and racism in shaping present-day conditions in our community and American society.

“I believe that H.R. 40 is a crucial piece of legislation because it goes beyond exploring the economic implications of slavery and segregation.  It is a holistic bill in the sense that it seeks to establish a commission to also examine the moral and social implications of slavery. In short, the Commission aims to study the impact of slavery and to address continuing disparities in the African American community and discrimination against the African American community, resulting directly and indirectly from slavery to segregation. The commission after its study would offer proposals concerning the long-term impact of slavery and to bring about solutions to these ongoing disparities in the African American Community. As in years past, the theme behind moving H.R.40 based on Dr. King’s words “Why we can’t wait,” which connotes the fact that we must cure these ongoing disparities in the African American community and the passage of this legislation in the 117^th Congress would move us swiftly towards that goal.  Though the times and circumstances may change, the principle problem of slavery continues to weigh heavily on this country. A federal commission can help us reach into this dark past and bring us into a brighter future.”