What Comes Next as Election Week Draws to a Close

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The 2020 Election Cycle has been historic and unique in many ways.  As the sun rises on the 6th day after Election Day, here are some updates and resources to help you stay in the loop on what comes next.

“AZBio Members employ over 300,000 people in Arizona and over 1 million people across the country and around the world.  As you may have noted during this election cycle and others, AZBio does not pick sides or endorse candidates. Instead, we encouraged all eligible individuals to vote.  Thank you to everyone who exercised their right to vote and participated in this historic election,” shared Joan Koerber-Walker, President & CEO of AZBio. “Thanks also go to all of the candidates who stepped forward with a desire to serve, to all of the campaign workers who supported their chosen candidates, to all of the election workers and officials who supported the election process and continue to count the ballots, to the postal workers who delivered the ballots, to the public information teams who have kept us informed, and to everyone who participated in the democratic process.”

As of Monday, July 9, 2020 at 7 AM MST,  the Arizona Secretary of State’s website listed 76,998 ballots yet to be counted.  You can follow the counting progress here:  https://www.arizona.vote/ballot-progress.html

For the most current election results from Arizona, please visit https://results.arizona.vote/#/featured/18/0 .

Electing the President & Vice President

After the ballots have been counted, there are additional steps in the Presidential Election Process:

  • Each State will certify its election and select its delegates to the Electoral College.  In the case of disputes, a federal law (3 U.S. Code § 5) known as the “safe harbor provision” requires a state to settle these disputes and determine its electors six days before the electoral college members meet in person. In 2020, that deadline is December 8.
  • The Electoral College Meets to vote on December 14th to cast the votes for their states.  270 votes are required to elect the next president and his running mate.
  • A joint session of Congress is required by the 12th Amendment to count the electoral votes and declare the winners of the presidential election. The joint session of Congress for this Presidential Election will be held on January 6, 2021 at 1 p.m.

(Learn more at https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/faq-what-happens-next-in-the-presidential-election-process)

Based on projected counts and other information, news outlets called the presidential election result for former Vice-President Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris on Saturday, November 7th.  To learn about this processes, click here.  It is important to note that the media call is NOT binding.  The declaration by the Joint session of Congress is definitive end of the Presidential Election Process.

The Biden-Harris Transition Team has announced their Transition Plan at https://buildbackbetter.com/priorities/.  The plan outlines priorities for:

  • COVID-19
  • Economic Recovery
  • Racial Equality
  • Climate Change

Arizona State Elections

As of the morning of November 9, 2020, ballot tabulation continued across the state. Unofficial results are available from the Secretary of State Office at Arizona.Vote.  Counties have 10 days following the November 3rd general election to finish counting ballots.

 

 

Posted in Advocacy and Regulations, AZBio News.