1 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Casual Questions Thread
The House isn't in charge of certification, but rather the combined Congress. In 2020, only 6 Republicans ended up voting against certification. So, even if certification was opposed by most House Republicans, there'd still likely be the total votes to certify.
If certification were to ultimately fail, then the House selects the President and the Senate selects the Vice President.
Comment by bleahdeebleah at 25/10/2023 at 17:50 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
That's a sort of dry recitation of the procedures but not really what I'm getting at.
The part you're missing is the states certifying the results. In my scenario the states have certified Biden's win. By my reading of the Constitution the Congress is required[1] to count the electoral votes and certify the election.
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed;
Congress is required. But what if they just refuse?
Again, from the 12th amendment:
The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President.
The only way in which the election can go to the House is if there isn't a majority among the electors sent by the states.
But it's just words on paper. What happens if they refuse?