You’ve probably seen the footage from January 6th—the mahogany boxes, the envelopes, the Vice President standing at the marble dais. It looks like a medieval ritual. Honestly, for a long time, the way we handled the final tally of a presidential election was governed by a law from 1887 that was, to put it mildly, a total mess. It was vague, confusing, and left way too much room for interpretation.
But things changed. If you’re wondering how do they count electoral votes today, the answer is a lot more structured than it used to be. After the chaos surrounding the 2020 election, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) in 2022. It basically overhauled the old rules to make sure the process is a boring, predictable ceremony rather than a political battlefield.
Let's break down how this actually works in the real world, from the state capitals to the floor of the House of Representatives.
The Paper Trail: From States to the National Archives
Before a single vote is counted in D.C., a mountain of paperwork has to move across the country. It starts with the Certificate of Ascertainment. This is a fancy way of saying "the official list of who won."
Under the new 2022 rules, the Governor of each state (or the Mayor of D.C.) is the only person authorized to send this document. This is huge. It prevents the nightmare scenario of "competing slates" where different state officials try to send different winners to Congress. If there’s a legal fight about who won, it has to be settled in court before the electors even meet.
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Speaking of meeting, the electors don't all fly to Washington. They meet in their own states on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December. For the 2024 election, that happened on December 17, 2024. They sign the Certificate of Vote, pair it with the Governor’s certificate, and mail it off to the Vice President and the National Archives.
How Do They Count Electoral Votes in the Joint Session?
On January 6th, the House and Senate meet in a joint session. It’s a rare moment where every member of Congress is in one room. The Vice President presides, but don't get it twisted—their job is "strictly ministerial."
The ECRA made it crystal clear: the VP cannot just decide to toss out votes. They are essentially a glorified moderator.
- The Vice President opens the certificates for each state in alphabetical order.
- Two "tellers" from the House and two from the Senate read the results out loud.
- They keep a running tally.
- If there are no valid objections, the results are finalized.
In 2025, we saw this play out when Kamala Harris presided over the count for the election she actually lost. It was a weird, awkward moment of American democracy, but it proved the law works. She read the 312 electoral votes for Donald Trump and the 226 for herself, then declared him the winner. No drama, just math.
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The Objection Threshold: No More One-Person Protests
You used to see a single Representative and a single Senator team up to object to a state’s results. This happened in 2005 with Ohio and 2021 with Arizona and Pennsylvania. It would grind the whole process to a halt for hours of debate.
That doesn't happen anymore.
The 2022 reform raised the bar significantly. Now, you need one-fifth (20%) of both the House and the Senate to sign an objection before it can even be considered. That means roughly 87 Representatives and 20 Senators have to put their names on the line.
Even if they hit that number, the grounds for objecting are super narrow:
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- The electors weren't "lawfully certified" by the Governor.
- An elector's vote wasn't "regularly given" (meaning something like a bribe or a technical error).
If an objection is actually filed, the House and Senate go to their separate chambers to talk it out for a maximum of two hours. Both chambers must agree to throw out the votes. If they disagree, the votes stay.
What Happens if Nobody Reaches 270?
This is the "break glass in case of emergency" scenario. If there's a three-way split or a 269-269 tie, and no one gets a majority, it triggers a Contingent Election.
This is where it gets really funky. The House of Representatives chooses the President, but they don't vote as individuals. Instead, each state gets exactly one vote. California gets one vote. Wyoming gets one vote. You need 26 states to win. Meanwhile, the Senate chooses the Vice President, with each Senator getting one vote.
It hasn't happened since 1824, but the rules are still there in the 12th Amendment.
Actionable Steps for Following the Process
If you want to track the next cycle or understand the current legal standing, keep these points in mind:
- Watch the Governor’s Signature: The "Certificate of Ascertainment" is the ultimate legal shield. If the Governor signs it and it survives court challenges by the December deadline, that's almost certainly the version Congress will count.
- Monitor the 20% Mark: During the January 6th session, don't pay attention to lone members shouting on the floor. Look to see if they actually have the signatures of 20% of both chambers. Without that, the objection is legally meaningless.
- Check the National Archives: The Office of the Federal Register actually posts the physical copies of the certificates online as they arrive. You can see the actual signatures and stamps from your state's electors.
The system is designed to be a series of checks, but the biggest check is now the Electoral Count Reform Act. By stripping the Vice President of discretionary power and raising the objection threshold, the law has basically turned the counting of electoral votes back into what the Founders likely intended: a formal confirmation of the states' will.