It is theoretically a formality. But this year, the vote of the big American voters who must formalize Monday the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election in November is of particular importance, in the face of Donald Trump’s stubborn refusal to recognize his defeat.
The president-elect is scheduled to deliver a speech Monday evening from his home town of Wilmington, Delaware, to celebrate this new confirmation of his victory “and the strength and resilience” of American democracy.
The results of the November 3 ballot have already been legally certified by each of the 50 US states: the Democrat won the record 81.28 million votes, or 51.3%, against 74.22 million and 46.8% to the outgoing Republican President.
But in the United States, the tenant of the White House is chosen by indirect universal suffrage, each state generally attributing its electorate, whose number depends essentially on its population, to the candidate who wins locally.
Here too, the certified results confirm the comfortable advance of Joe Biden, announced on November 7 by the major American media, with 306 voters against 232 to Donald Trump.
It is this “electoral college” which meets Monday to formalize this vote. In reality, the voters will meet separately, state by state, throughout the day.
The 538 voters are local politicians, civil society figures, or relatives of a candidate. Most are unknown to the general public, but there are times when national figures are part of the electoral college – this is the case this year with the unsuccessful 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who will vote for Joe Biden and her future. Vice President Kamala Harris in New York State.
Trump continues the ‘fight’
Although it has happened in the past that a very small handful of them deviate from the rule that they give their vote to the candidate who wins in their state, this has never changed the outcome of the election.
On Monday, Joe Biden’s victory will therefore be even more official.
But from the White House, Donald Trump continues to denounce without evidence “the most rigged election in American history”, as he tweeted again on Sunday.
“How can states and politicians confirm an election where fraud and irregularities have been demonstrated?” He even asked.
However, his camp was not able to provide the slightest evidence to support his accusations, and his legal actions were almost all rejected. Ultimate humiliation, the Supreme Court, yet profoundly overhauled by Donald Trump who appointed three judges and thus consolidated the now strong conservative majority of six out of nine members, last week rejected two Republican appeals without even seizing on the merits.
Once Monday’s solemn step has been taken, it is possible that a greater number of elected Republicans will agree to recognize Joe Biden’s victory.
But it is unlikely that Donald Trump will fall into line, especially since according to polls, a large majority of his voters do not consider the Democrat a legitimate winner.
“The fight has only just begun !!!” tweeted the outgoing president this weekend.
This weekend, when Fox News asked him if he would attend the Democratic President-elect’s swearing-in on January 20, as tradition and protocol dictate, the ex-real estate mogul again dodged: “I don’t want to talk about that”, he just blurted out, sulky.
He could try to take advantage of the complexity of an institutional process that stretches in length for a last standstill: some elected officials close to him plan to contest the results when Congress will be called upon to provide a final validation on January 6. .
The move has virtually no chance of success, but should leave future President Biden a country, and a political class, more divided than ever.