Prior to the drama of January 6, 2021, many Americans likely didn’t give presidential elections much thought beyond Election Day. Now, however, the certification of electors leads the news cycle – and it has everyone’s attention. Today, the joint session of the new 119th Congress will meet to count and certify the electors and confirm Donald Trump as the 47th president. But what, exactly, does that mean – and how does it work?
Republic, Not Democracy
The easiest question to answer behind the Electoral College – though, apparently, still very difficult for many Americans to grasp – is “why.” Why is there this other process beyond the popular vote that determines who holds the highest office in the land? Because the US is not a democracy. It’s a republic of 50 individual democracies (plus Washington, DC, thanks to the 23rd Amendment to the…
