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Despite a long legal battle and dozens of suits, it seems President Donald Trump will only be serving one term in the White House. On Monday, electors representing the slates chosen by state legislatures are convening to cast their state’s votes. This means that Donald Trump will come short of the 270 electoral votes he needed to secure a second term. Instead, Joe Biden will end up with 306 votes, well ahead of what he needed to win.
The president’s legal challenges in states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada have not been persuasive enough to sway judges. Despite his legal team’s efforts, judges in multiple states threw out suits that alleged widespread voter misconduct and fraud. Judges alleged that the Trump legal teams lacked sufficient evidence to prove their claims of fraud.
In short, the convening of slates of electors to certify Joe Biden’s win means that the fight is over for the president. While President Trump might continue to challenge the results publicly, it will likely make little difference. On January 6, Congress will convene to read the results of the Electoral College votes, but that is typically a ceremonial event. Once the electors have cast their votes, Biden will be president-elect and will be sworn in on January 20, barring some particularly unlikely twist of fate.
The electors were certified by state legislatures in the weeks leading up to Monday’s meetings. In each state of the US, electors will gather in state houses and cast their votes for the candidate that won the popular vote in their state. In Nebraska and Maine, however, some electors will be casting their votes for the candidate that won a congressional district due to those states’ laws.
While the electors could technically go rogue and vote for a candidate other than the one they are pledged to, this is illegal in over thirty states. The likelihood that Biden’s pledged electors, who include Democratic Party mainstays like Bill and Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo, will flip to Donald Trump is very low. Likewise, Trump’s pledged electors are highly unlikely to defect and vote for Biden.
While the president may continue to file suit and decry the electoral process, following Monday it will be a moot point. During the congressional hearing certifying the results, it is unlikely that Congress will move to throw out any state’s election results. Despite his best efforts, the president will be leaving the White House on January 20, and Joe Biden will begin his term.
