What is normally a brief ceremony looks like it will turn into an unprecedented marathon Wednesday as Congress tallies the results of the presidential election.
Vice President Mike Pence, as president of the Senate, will open the Electoral College certificates from the states and read the results.
That is pretty much the extent of his role in the process, said Stanford law professor Nathan Persily, an expert on elections and the constitution.
"The vice president’s role is basically a ceremonial role in which he is presiding over the opening of the certificates. He is not the judge and jury of the legitimacy of the election or the legitimacy of those certificates," Persily told KCBS Radio’s "The State of California" program.
Despite President Trump’s continued claims of fraud, all 50 states have certified their election results as valid and fair, including states controlled by Republican legislators that went to Joe Biden.
The president has in recent days said Pence can reject electors from some states in a continued effort to stay in office.
"No it’s not true. If it were true, Al Gore might have been president, as well as maybe even Richard Nixon," said Persily, referring to the controversial final vote tally from Florida which decided the 2000 presidential election and the 1960 election when then-Vice President Nixon announced his own loss to John F. Kennedy. "It’s not as if this power rests in one person. Ultimately he is accountable to the House and the Senate."
Pence does accept challenges, which must be raised by at least one Representative and one Senator. Each challenge will force up to two hours of debate and are expected to slow down the process.
But the effort does not have majority support, with even most Republicans saying they do not support efforts to overturn the vote.
So what happens if Pence tries to overturn the results anyway?
"There’s gonna be an objection and then the houses will retire to their individual chambers and then they will have a debate and vote on it. And that’s what, under the constitution, is determinative."
Persily expects a long day and night of high drama but said: "Joe Biden is going to be announced as president this week. It’s going to happen."
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