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[[File:Joint session of Congress, Electoral Count, 2017.jpg|thumb|Electoral votes are counted in a joint session of Congress, 2017]]
[[File:Joint session of Congress, Electoral Count, 2017.jpg|thumb|Electoral votes are counted in a joint session of Congress, 2017]]


Per the [[Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution|20th Amendment]], the Vice president must count the electoral votes in front of a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. This is governed by the [[Electoral Count Act of 1887]], passed to prevent crises such as that in [[Compromise of 1877|1876-77]], and while provisions have been used, the act has never been truly put to the test.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
Per the [[Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution|20th Amendment]], the Vice President must count the electoral votes in front of a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. This is governed by the [[Electoral Count Act of 1887]], passed to prevent crises such as that in [[Compromise of 1877|1876-77]], and while provisions have been used, the act has never been truly put to the test.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}


Should a crisis last more than a few days, it is possible that no one will have been declared the victor prior to January 20, though this has never happen before. In that case, the Speaker of the House (currently [[Nancy Pelosi]]) would become acting president, and would be inaugurated. There may be several inaugurations and up to five different people possibly taking the oath of office. These include:
Should a crisis last more than a few days, it is possible that no one will have been declared the victor prior to January 20, though this has never happen before. In that case, the Speaker of the House (currently [[Nancy Pelosi]]) would become acting president, and would be inaugurated. There may be several inaugurations and up to five different people possibly taking the oath of office. These include:

Revision as of 02:04, 29 October 2020

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The presidential transition of Joe Biden is the planned presidential transition of Joe Biden. In April 2020, he became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States, and Biden's transition team was announced on June 20, 2020. He formally accepted the nomination in August 2020. If he wins the 2020 presidential election, scheduled for November 3, 2020, Biden will become president-elect. If he loses the election, Biden's presidential transition will be suspended.

The Electoral College will meet on December 14, 2020 and formally elect the president, and the results will then be certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. If Biden wins the election, his transition will end when he is inaugurated at 12:00 p.m. EST on January 20, 2021, at which point his presidency will begin.

Transition procedures

Main article: United States presidential transition

In accordance with the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010, potential presidential transition teams are provided office space by the General Services Administration (GSA).[1][2] They are also eligible for government funding for staff; spending on Mitt Romney's transition team in 2012 was $8.9 million, all funds appropriated by the U.S. government.[2]

Under existing federal law and custom, Biden became eligible to receive classified national security briefings when his nomination was formalized at the party's national convention in August 2020.[3]

Key responsibilities of a presidential transition include the identification and vetting of candidates for approximately 4,000 non-civil service positions in the U.S. government whose serve at the pleasure of the president; arranging the occupancy of executive residences including the White House, One Observatory Circle, and Camp David; liaising with the United States Strategic Command for receipt of the Gold Codes; and briefing senior personnel about a new administration's policy priorities.[4]

Pre-election developments

A law enacted by Congress in 2019 amending the Presidential Transition Act requires the incumbent president to establish "transition councils" by June of an election year to facilitate the possible handover of power.[5][6]

Biden appointed a transition staff in May 2020 chaired by Former Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman.[7] Further staff were announced in September. The campaign has estimated a budget of $7-10 million and plans to have a staff of 300 people by early December 2020. Several working groups were set up in late September and early October.[8]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the work was done over Zoom.[9]

Concerns about the legitimacy of the 2020 election

As early as the summer of 2020, President Donald Trump has called into question the legitimicy of the election, saying that the increase of mail-in voting in the 2020 election compared to previous elections will lead to a "rigged election".[10][11] For this reason, many pundits and editorial writers have insisted that his opponent Joe Biden needs to win in a landslide to prevent Trump from challenging the result.[12][13][14] President Trump's preemptive accusations of fraud have caused some people to consider what would happen if the President should lose by a margin less than a landslide.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] At various point, President Trump have called for his attorney general William Barr to investigate Biden and his late son Hunter, with Trump at times suggesting that his opponent should be in prison.[24]

Rosa Brooks, who worked in President Obama's Defense Department, co-founded the Transition Integrity Project (TIP), which in June 2020 ran a series of "war gaming" exercises to explore potential election and transition scenarios. In August 2020, TIP released a widely discussed report that outlined four 2020 election crisis scenario planning exercises for the 2020 United States presidential election.[25] The scenarios examined by TIP included a decisive Biden win, a decisive Trump win, a narrow Biden win, and a period of extended uncertainty after the election.[26]. Other academics, such as Lawrence Douglas in his book Will He Go?: Trump and the Looming Election Meltdown in 2020 have also discussed the posibility of Trump refusing to concede if he loses.

Electoral votes are counted in a joint session of Congress, 2017

Per the 20th Amendment, the Vice President must count the electoral votes in front of a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. This is governed by the Electoral Count Act of 1887, passed to prevent crises such as that in 1876-77, and while provisions have been used, the act has never been truly put to the test.[citation needed]

Should a crisis last more than a few days, it is possible that no one will have been declared the victor prior to January 20, though this has never happen before. In that case, the Speaker of the House (currently Nancy Pelosi) would become acting president, and would be inaugurated. There may be several inaugurations and up to five different people possibly taking the oath of office. These include:

  • Trump/Pence and Biden/Harris taking their oaths at different places simultaneously.
  • Pence taking the oath
  • Harris taking the oath.
  • Pelosi taking the oath.[27]

Timeline

Pre-election

Meetings between the transition team and the administration began with the formation of two councils in May of 2020,[28][29] around the time the former Vice President had clinched the Democratic nomination.

  • April 8, 2020: Biden becomes the presumptive nominee after Bernie Sanders withdraws.
  • June 20, 2020: Initial transition team announced.[30]
  • August 2020: Biden and California Senator Kamala Harris are nominated at the Democratic Convention.
  • September 5, 2020: full transition team is made public.[30]
  • November 1, 2020: Deadline for transition materials to be completed.[31]
  • November 3, 2020: Election Day

Post-election

  • Early-to-mid-November: Election called
  • November-December: Litigation.[14][32]
  • December 8 – Safe harbor deadline
  • December 14 – Electoral College meets
  • January 6, 2021 – Congress counts Electoral College votes
  • January 20, 2021: Inaguration day

References

  1. ^ Parker, Ashley (August 16, 2012). "Campaigning Aside, Team Plans a Romney Presidency". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Fund, John (January 13, 2013). "What was Romney Planning?". National Review. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Gazis, Olivia; Erickson, Bo; Segers, Grace (September 18, 2020). "Biden receives first classified intelligence briefing". CBS News.
  4. ^ "Help Wanted: 4,000 Presidential Appointees". Center for Presidential Transition. Partnership for Public Service. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  5. ^ https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/05/trump-administration-details-efforts-support-peaceful-presidential-transition/165443/
  6. ^ https://presidentialtransition.org/
  7. ^ https://www.democracyinaction.us/2020/chrntran/bidentransition.html
  8. ^ Strauss, Daniel (September 23, 2020). "'This is a transition like no other': Biden team prepared for all possibilities". The Guardian.
  9. ^ Ollstein, Alice Miranda; Cassella, Megan (October 5, 2020). "A new challenge for transition planners: Building a government over Zoom". Politico.
  10. ^ "AP FACT CHECK: Trump's view of flawed voting is baseless". AP NEWS. July 30, 2020.
  11. ^ CNN, Marshall Cohen. "Trump spreads new lies about foreign-backed voter fraud, stoking fears of a 'rigged election' this November". CNN. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Freedland, Jonathan (July 17, 2020). "Trump will cling to power. To get him out, Biden will have to win big | Jonathan Freedland" – via www.theguardian.com.
  13. ^ Bruni, Frank (August 22, 2020). "Opinion | Why Biden Needs a Landslide Just to Win" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ a b Graff, Garrett M. (October 23, 2020). "A Day-By-Day Guide to What Could Happen If This Election Goes Bad". Politico.
  15. ^ https://theintercept.com/2020/08/11/trump-november-2020-election/
  16. ^ https://medium.com/the-atlantic/the-election-that-could-break-america-ebf4eb3f5b2f
  17. ^ https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/court-cases/voting-rights-litigation-2020
  18. ^ https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-involved-in-litigation-about-voting-2020-9
  19. ^ Kruzel, John (September 28, 2020). "GOP asks Supreme Court to halt mail voting extension in Pennsylvania". The Hill.
  20. ^ https://healthyelections-case-tracker.stanford.edu/cases
  21. ^ "Courts view GOP fraud claims skeptically as Democrats score key legal victories over mail voting". The Washington Post. September 28, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  22. ^ https://electioncases.osu.edu/2020/10/case-updates-week-of-oct-12-16/
  23. ^ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aqmM4xtwrQICCu5KldYePLf3Zk_TMzRo71wRvyPmLfk/edit
  24. ^ Madhani, Aamer; Long, Colleen (October 21, 2020). "Trump ups pressure on Barr to probe Bidens as election nears". AP News. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  25. ^ "Transition Integrity Project: Preventing a disrupted presidential election and transition". PAXsims. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  26. ^ "Experts Game Out What Might Happen If The Election Goes Off The Rails". NPR.org. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  27. ^ Coleman, Justine (October 25, 2020). "Pelosi commits to running for Speaker if Democrats retain House". The Hill. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  28. ^ Restuccia, Andrew; Collins, Eliza (October 22, 2020). "Biden Team Prepares for Potentially Bumpy Transition". The Wall Street Journal.
  29. ^ https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/05/trump-administration-details-efforts-support-peaceful-presidential-transition/165443/
  30. ^ a b Bradner, Eric (June 20, 2020). "Biden expands transition team, adding key campaign allies and top Obama-Biden policy hands". CNN. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  31. ^ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/trump-cant-single-handedly-wreck-transition/616876/
  32. ^ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aqmM4xtwrQICCu5KldYePLf3Zk_TMzRo71wRvyPmLfk/edit
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