On the thirteenth, the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives gather in Washington DC to traditionally count all the electoral votes from each state and determine who will be the next president of the United States. This means that Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the November election is now officially approved.
Trump picked up 312 of the 538 electors, i.e. significantly more than the 270 required for victory in the presidential election.
At 19:00 Swedish time, the opening of the sealed electoral votes began. In the role of vice president and president of the Senate, Democrat Kamala Harris is required to preside over the ceremony.
Harris says in a video posted on X that “the peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy.”
She also says, “As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile, and it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles and to ensure that our government in the United States always remains of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Barriers and security measures
The traditional ceremony was canceled four years ago, after Donald Trump refused to admit defeat in the 2020 election. A mob of Trump supporters and right-wing extremists stormed the US Congress.
There is no sign of a repeat of the unrest this time, and today there are also significantly more cordons and a greater security effort in Washington to prevent a repeat.
On January 20, Trump will be installed as the 47th President of the United States.