[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 2 (Thursday, January 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H76-H77]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD 
      PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1

  At 1 p.m., the Assistant Sergeant at Arms, George Awkward, announced 
the Vice President and the Senate of the United States.
  The Senate entered the Hall of the House of Representatives, headed 
by the Vice President and the Secretary of the Senate, the Members and 
officers of the House rising to receive them.
  The Vice President took his seat as the Presiding Officer of the 
joint convention of the two Houses, the Speaker of the House occupying 
the chair on his left.
  The joint session was called to order by the Vice President.
  The VICE PRESIDENT. Mr. Speaker and Members of Congress, the Senate 
and the House of Representatives, pursuant to the requirements of the 
Constitution and the laws of the United States, are meeting in joint 
session for the purpose of opening the certificates and ascertaining 
and counting the

[[Page H77]]

votes of the electors of the several States for President and Vice 
President.
  Under well-established precedents, unless a motion shall be made in 
any case, the reading of the formal portions of the certificates will 
be dispensed with. After ascertainment has been had that the 
certificates are authentic and correct in form, the tellers will count 
and make a list of the votes cast by the electors of the several 
States.
  The tellers on the part of the two Houses will take their places at 
the Clerk's desk.
  The Chair hands to the tellers the certificates of the electors for 
President and Vice President of the State of Alabama, and they will 
count and make a list of the votes cast by that State.
  The tellers, Mr. Warner and Mr. Ford on the part of the Senate, and 
Mr. Thomas and Mr. Gejdenson on the part of the House, took their 
places at the desk.
  Senator WARNER (one of the tellers). Mr. President, the certificate 
of the electoral vote of the State of Alabama seems to be regular in 
form and authentic, and it appears therefrom that Bob Dole of the State 
of Kansas received 9 votes for President, and Jack Kemp of the State of 
Maryland received 9 votes for Vice President.
  The VICE PRESIDENT. If there is no objection, the Chair will omit in 
the further procedure the formal statement just made, and we will open 
the certificates in alphabetical order and pass to the tellers the 
certificates showing the votes of the electors in each State; and the 
tellers will then read, count and announce the result in each State as 
was done with respect to the State of Alabama.
  Is there objection?
  The Chair hears no objection.
  There was no objection.
  The tellers then proceeded to read, count, and announce, as was done 
in the case of the State of Alabama, the electoral votes of the several 
States in alphabetical order.

                              {time}  1315

  The VICE PRESIDENT. Gentlemen and gentlewomen of the Congress, the 
certificates of all the States have now been opened and read, and the 
tellers will make final ascertainment of the result and deliver the 
same to the President of the Senate.
  The tellers delivered to the President of the Senate the following 
statement of the results:

     Joint Session to Count Electoral Votes, Thursday, Jan. 9, 1997
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Amount           Winner
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................         9  Dole/Kemp
Alaska................................         3  Dole/Kemp
Arizona...............................         8  Clinton/Gore
Arkansas..............................         6  Clinton/Gore
California............................        54  Clinton/Gore
Colorado..............................         8  Dole/Kemp
Connecticut...........................         8  Clinton/Gore
Delaware..............................         3  Clinton/Gore
District of Columbia..................         3  Clinton/Gore
Florida...............................        25  Clinton/Gore
Georgia...............................        13  Dole/Kemp
Hawaii................................         4  Clinton/Gore
Idaho.................................         4  Dole/Kemp
Illinois..............................        22  Clinton/Gore
Indiana...............................        12  Dole/Kemp
Iowa..................................         7  Clinton/Gore
Kansas................................         6  Dole/Kemp
Kentucky..............................         8  Clinton/Gore
Louisiana.............................         9  Clinton/Gore
Maine.................................         4  Clinton/Gore
Maryland..............................        10  Clinton/Gore
Massachusetts.........................        12  Clinton/Gore
Michigan..............................        18  Clinton/Gore
Minnesota.............................        10  Clinton/Gore
Mississippi...........................         7  Dole/Kemp
Missouri..............................        11  Clinton/Gore
Montana...............................         3  Dole/Kemp
Nebraska..............................         5  Dole/Kemp
Nevada................................         4  Clinton/Gore
New Hampshire.........................         4  Clinton/Gore
New Jersey............................        15  Clinton/Gore
New Mexico............................         5  Clinton/Gore
New York..............................        33  Clinton/Gore
North Carolina........................        14  Dole/Kemp
North Dakota..........................         3  Dole/Kemp
Ohio..................................        21  Clinton/Gore
Oklahoma..............................         8  Dole/Kemp
Oregon................................         7  Clinton/Gore
Pennsylvania..........................        23  Clinton/Gore
Rhode Island..........................         4  Clinton/Gore
South Carolina........................         8  Dole/Kemp
South Dakota..........................         3  Dole/Kemp
Tennessee.............................        11  Clinton/Gore
Texas.................................        32  Dole/Kemp
Utah..................................         5  Dole/Kemp
Vermont...............................         3  Clinton/Gore
Virginia..............................        13  Dole/Kemp
Washington............................        11  Clinton/Gore
West Virginia.........................         5  Clinton/Gore
Wisconsin.............................        11  Clinton/Gore
Wyoming...............................         3  Dole/Kemp
                                       ---------------------------------
    Total.............................       538  ......................
      Clinton/Gore....................       379
      Dole/Kemp.......................       159
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The VICE PRESIDENT. The state of the vote for President of the United 
States, as delivered to the President of the Senate, is as follows:
  The whole number of electors appointed to vote for President of the 
United States is 538, of which a majority is 270.
  Bill Clinton, of the State of Arkansas, has received for President of 
the United States 379 votes.
  Bob Dole, of the State of Kansas, has received 159 votes.
  The state of the vote for Vice President of the United States, as 
delivered to the President of the Senate, is as follows:
  The whole number of electors appointed to vote for Vice President of 
the United States is 538, of which a majority is 270.
  Al Gore, of the State of Tennessee, has received for Vice President 
of the United States 379 votes.
  Jack Kemp, of the State of Maryland, has received 159 votes.
  This announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the 
persons elected President and Vice President of the United States, each 
for the term beginning on the 20th day of January 1997, and shall be 
entered, together with a list of the votes, on the Journals of the 
Senate and House of Representatives.
  Members of the Congress, the purpose for which the joint session of 
the two Houses of Congress has been called having been accomplished, 
pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, 105th Congress, the Chair 
declares the joint session dissolved.
  (Thereupon, at 1 o'clock and 24 minutes p.m., the joint session of 
the two Houses of Congress was dissolved.)

                              {time}  1328

  The House was called to order by the Speaker.
  The SPEAKER. Pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, 105th 
Congress, the Chair directs that the electoral vote will be spread at 
large upon the Journal.

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