Talk:Electoral Count Act

If there are objections from 4 states, does that mean there is 8 hours of debate? In 2005, the Ohio objection interrupted counting and debate began immediately. RobS^{Free Kyle!} 21:13, 28 December 2020 (EST)

According to the Act, "Upon such reading of any such certificate or paper [i.e., the documents that convey the votes of a state's electors], the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. . . . No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon until the objections previously made to the votes or papers from any State shall have been finally disposed of" (§ 15). So the answer would appear to be yes. FabioZ (talk) 17:52, 2 January 2021 (EST)

So there will be no president-elect on January 6. There will be 12 to 14 hours of debate beginning sometime after 1 PM EDT. But with the shuffling back forth between House and Senate, and because of the numbers in the House, the 2 hour debate in the House in 2004 took 3 1/2 hours. RobS^{Free Kyle!} 18:50, 2 January 2021 (EST)

Confusion

"While the Electoral Count Act says a majority vote in the US House of its members can rule on objections, the 12th Amendment orders the vote in the US House to made by its State delegations." Two completely different legal provisions are being conflated here. The ECA speaks only of the rules for determining the outcome of objections to a state's electoral vote during the vote count. Amendment XII gives the provision for when no candidate receives the votes of a majority of electors appointed. Two entirely different situations. This should be corrected. FabioZ (talk) 18:01, 2 January 2021 (EST)

No. That is at the crux of Gohmert's filing. The ECA is unconstitutional. Gohmert's filing got tossed for a lack of standing, not on the merits. This is Joint Session, the rules differ from House and Senate rules. And the House rules are unconstitutional in a matter regarding the Electoral College. The 12th Amendment is the base law. RobS^{Free Kyle!} 19:03, 2 January 2021 (EST)

First off, the constitutionality of the ECA has never been adjudicated. Second, the ECA says nothing about the case of no candidate receiving a majority of electoral votes, which is addressed in the 12th Amendment (with the House of Representatives choosing the president, one vote per state). The House rules governing objections to states' electoral votes falls within the Constitution's provision that "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings" (I.5). Therefore, the ECA does not conflict with the 12 Amendment on this score. FabioZ (talk) 20:07, 2 January 2021 (EST)

Another confused statement: "While the Act states that he should cut off debate after two hours, in practice the presiding Chairman in parliamentary procedure could allow debate as long as he likes." The ECA states that the two houses of Congress meet separately to debate the objections, the Senate withdrawing to its chamber (presumably with the president pro tempore presiding) and the Speaker of the House presiding over the debate of the House of Representatives. During these debates, the vice president's role is "to preserve order" (§ 18). FabioZ (talk) 18:12, 2 January 2021 (EST)

IMO, none of this will be followed. We're more likely to see something like in the election of 1876, when the Congress did not follow the Constitution at all. RobS^{Free Kyle!} 19:03, 2 January 2021 (EST)