The First Monday after the Second Wednesday in December

The 2020 United States Presidential Election has been something of a roller coaster as the people have waited to see which candidate will take the stand. From waiting for Nevada to turn blue or red to watching both candidates handle the situation in very different ways, the people of the U.S. have wondered for days— even weeks— as to who would become the next President. But did you know that there’s an actual election day on which the President-elect becomes official?

In June of 1948, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America assembled in Congress and enacted many new laws, one of which included the “Meeting and Vote of Electors” clause. This law laid out a specific date in which the President and Vice President of the United States are elected by the Electoral Voters.

According to Chapter 644 of the United States’ Public Laws, Section 7, “The electors of President and Vice President of each State shall meet and give their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following their appointment at such place in each State as the legislature of such State shall direct.”

This means that on December 14th, 2020 the Electoral Voters from each state will meet and cast their votes for President and Vice President of the United States of America, officially announcing the winners of the election. And although it is already quite clear who has won the election, this meeting and vote of electors will seal the deal for Americans for the next four years.

So for those of you that stayed up all night on November 3rd, anxiously awaiting the announcement of the next President of the United states, know now that the election was never to be decided upon that day, or even the next. Because the election isn’t over until the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.