    [United States Senate Manual, 118th Congress]
    [S. Doc. 118-1]
    [Cleaves Manual of Conferences and Conference Reports]
    [Pages 321-325]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 321]]

                                   TITLE 3--THE PRESIDENT

                       Chapter 1--PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES

           318  Sec. 5. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of
                    electors
                    (a) In General.--
                                (1) Certification.--Not later than the date
                            that is 6 days before the time fixed for the
                            meeting of the electors, the executive of each
                            State shall issue a certificate of ascertainment
                            of appointment of electors, under and in
                            pursuance of the laws of such State providing
                            for such appointment and ascertainment enacted
                            prior to election day.
                                (2) Form of certificate.--Each certificate
                            of ascertainment of appointment of electors
                            shall--

                                    (A) set forth the names of the electors
                                appointed and the canvass or other
                                determination under the laws of such State
                                of the number of votes given or cast for
                                each person for whose appointment any and
                                all votes have been given or cast;

                                    (B) bear the seal of the State; and

                                    (C) contain at least one security
                                feature, as determined by the State, for
                                purposes of verifying the authenticity of
                                such certificate.

                    (b) Transmission.--It shall be the duty of the executive
                of each State--
                                (1) to transmit to the Archivist of the
                            United States, immediately after the issuance of
                            a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of
                            electors and by the most expeditious method
                            available, such certificate of ascertainment of
                            appointment of electors; and
                                (2) to transmit to the electors of such
                            State, on or before the day on which the
                            electors are required to meet under section 7,
                            six duplicate-originals of the same certificate.
                    (c) Treatment of Certificate as Conclusive.--For
                purposes of section 15:
                                (1) In general.--

                                    (A) Certificate issued by executive.--
                                Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a
                                certificate of ascertainment of appointment
                                of electors issued pursuant to subsection
                                (a)(1) shall be treated as conclusive in
                                Congress with respect to the determination
                                of electors appointed by the State.

                                    (B) Certificates issued pursuant to
                                court orders.--Any certificate of
                                ascertainment of appointment of electors
                                required to be issued or revised by any
                                State or Federal judicial relief granted
                                prior to the date of the meeting of electors
                                shall replace and supersede any other
                                certificates submitted pursuant to this
                                section.

                                (2) Determination of federal questions.--The
                            determination of Federal courts on questions
                            arising under the Constitution or laws of the
                            United States with respect to a certificate of
                            ascertainment of appointment of electors shall
                            be conclusive in Congress.
                    (d) Venue and Expedited Procedure.--

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                                (1) In general.--Any action brought by an
                            aggrieved candidate for President or Vice
                            President that arises under the Constitution or
                            laws of the United States with respect to the
                            issuance of the certification required under
                            section (a)(1), or the transmission of such
                            certification as required under subsection (b),
                            shall be subject to the following rules:

                                    (A) Venue.--The venue for such action
                                shall be the Federal district court of the
                                Federal district in which the State capital
                                is located.

                                    (B) 3-judge panel.--Such action shall be
                                heard by a district court of three judges,
                                convened pursuant to section 2284 of title
                                28, United States Code, except that--

                                            (i) the court shall be comprised
                                        of two judges of the circuit court
                                        of appeals in which the district
                                        court lies and one judge of the
                                        district court in which the action
                                        is brought; and

                                            (ii) section 2284(b)(2) of such
                                        title shall not apply.

                                    (C) Expedited procedure.--It shall be
                                the duty of the court to advance on the
                                docket and to expedite to the greatest
                                possible extent the disposition of the
                                action, consistent with all other relevant
                                deadlines established by this chapter and
                                the laws of the United States.

                                    (D) Appeals.--Notwithstanding section
                                1253 of title 28, United States Code, the
                                final judgment of the panel convened under
                                subparagraph (B) may be reviewed directly by
                                the Supreme Court, by writ of certiorari
                                granted upon petition of any party to the
                                case, on an expedited basis, so that a final
                                order of the court on remand of the Supreme
                                Court may occur on or before the day before
                                the time fixed for the meeting of electors.

                                (2) Rule of construction.--This subsection--

                                    (A) shall be construed solely to
                                establish venue and expedited procedures in
                                any action brought by an aggrieved candidate
                                for President or Vice President as specified
                                in this subsection that arises under the
                                Constitution or laws of the United States;
                                and

                                    (B) shall not be construed to preempt or
                                displace any existing State or Federal cause
                                of action. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat.
                                673; Pub. L. 117-328, div. P, title I,
                                Sec. 104(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5234.)

           319  Sec. 6. Duties of Archivist
                    The certificates of ascertainment of appointment of
                electors received by the Archivist of the United States
                under section 5 shall--
                                (1) be preserved for one year;
                                (2) be a part of the public records of such
                            office; and
                                (3) be open to public inspection. (June 25,
                            1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 673; Oct. 31, 1951, ch.
                            655, Sec. 6, 65 Stat. 711; Pub. L. 98-497, title
                            I, Sec. 107(e)(1), (2)(A), Oct. 19, 1984, 98
                            Stat. 2291; Pub. L. 117-328, div. P, title I,
                            Sec. 105(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5236 .)
           320  Sec. 15. Counting electoral votes in Congress
                    (a) In General.--Congress shall be in session on the
                sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the
                electors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet
                in the Hall of the House of Representatives

    [[Page 323]]

                at the hour of 1 o'clock in the afternoon on that day, and
                the President of the Senate shall be their presiding
                officer.
                    (b) Powers of the President of Senate.--
                                (1) Ministerial in nature.--Except as
                            otherwise provided in this chapter, the role of
                            the President of the Senate while presiding over
                            the joint session shall be limited to performing
                            solely ministerial duties.
                                (2) Powers explicitly denied.--The President
                            of the Senate shall have no power to solely
                            determine, accept, reject, or otherwise
                            adjudicate or resolve disputes over the proper
                            certificate of ascertainment of appointment of
                            electors, the validity of electors, or the votes
                            of electors.
                    (c) Appointment of Tellers.--At the joint session of the
                Senate and House of Representatives described in subsection
                (a), there shall be present two tellers previously appointed
                on the part of the Senate and two tellers previously
                appointed on the part of the House of Representatives by the
                presiding officers of the respective chambers.
                    (d) Procedure at Joint Session Generally.--
                                (1) In general.--The President of the Senate
                            shall--

                                    (A) open the certificates and papers
                                purporting to be certificates of the votes
                                of electors appointed pursuant to a
                                certificate of ascertainment of appointment
                                of electors issued pursuant to section 5, in
                                the alphabetical order of the States,
                                beginning with the letter A; and

                                    (B) upon opening any certificate, hand
                                the certificate and any accompanying papers
                                to the tellers, who shall read the same in
                                the presence and hearing of the two Houses.

                                (2) Action on certificate.--

                                    (A) In general.--Upon the reading of
                                each certificate or paper, the President of
                                the Senate shall call for objections, if
                                any.

                                    (B) Requirements for objections or
                                questions.--

                                            (i) Objections.--No objection or
                                        other question arising in the matter
                                        shall be in order unless the
                                        objection or question--

                                              (I) is made in writing;

                                              (II) is signed by at least
                                        one-fifth of the Senators duly
                                        chosen and sworn and one-fifth of
                                        the Members of the House of
                                        Representatives duly chosen and
                                        sworn; and

                                              (III) in the case of an
                                        objection, states clearly and
                                        concisely, without argument, one of
                                        the grounds listed under clause
                                        (ii).

                                            (ii) Grounds for objections.--
                                        The only grounds for objections
                                        shall be as follows:

                                              (I) The electors of the State
                                        were not lawfully certified under a
                                        certificate of ascertainment of
                                        appointment of electors according to
                                        section 5(a)(1).

                                              (II) The vote of one or more
                                        electors has not been regularly
                                        given.

                                    (C) Consideration of objections and
                                questions.--

                                            (i) In general.--When all
                                        objections so made to any vote or
                                        paper from a State, or other
                                        question arising in the matter,
                                        shall have been received and read,
                                        the Senate shall thereupon withdraw,
                                        and such objections and questions

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                                        shall be submitted to the Senate for
                                        its decision; and the Speaker of the
                                        House of Representatives shall, in
                                        like manner, submit such objections
                                        and questions to the House of
                                        Representatives for its decision.

                                            (ii) Determination.--No
                                        objection or any other question
                                        arising in the matter may be
                                        sustained unless such objection or
                                        question is sustained by separate
                                        concurring votes of each House.

                                    (D) Reconvening.--When the two Houses
                                have voted, they shall immediately again
                                meet, and the presiding officer shall then
                                announce the decision of the questions
                                submitted. No vote or paper from any other
                                State shall be acted upon until the
                                objections previously made to any vote or
                                paper from any State, and other questions
                                arising in the matter, shall have been
                                finally disposed of.

                    (e) Rules for Tabulating Votes.--
                                (1) Counting of votes.--

                                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in
                                subparagraph (B)--

                                            (i) only the votes of electors
                                        who have been appointed under a
                                        certificate of ascertainment of
                                        appointment of electors issued
                                        pursuant to section 5, or who have
                                        legally been appointed to fill a
                                        vacancy of any such elector pursuant
                                        to section 4, may be counted; and

                                            (ii) no vote of an elector
                                        described in clause (i) which has
                                        been regularly given shall be
                                        rejected.

                                    (B) Exception.--The vote of an elector
                                who has been appointed under a certificate
                                of ascertainment of appointment of electors
                                issued pursuant to section 5 shall not be
                                counted if--

                                            (i) there is an objection which
                                        meets the requirements of subsection
                                        (d)(2)(B)(i); and

                                            (ii) each House affirmatively
                                        sustains the objection as valid.

                                (2) Determination of majority.--If the
                            number of electors lawfully appointed by any
                            State pursuant to a certificate of ascertainment
                            of appointment of electors that is issued under
                            section 5 is fewer than the number of electors
                            to which the State is entitled under section 3,
                            or if an objection the grounds for which are
                            described in subsection (d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) has
                            been sustained, the total number of electors
                            appointed for the purpose of determining a
                            majority of the whole number of electors
                            appointed as required by the Twelfth Amendment
                            to the Constitution shall be reduced by the
                            number of electors whom the State has failed to
                            appoint or as to whom the objection was
                            sustained.
                                (3) List of votes by tellers; declaration of
                            winner.--The tellers shall make a list of the
                            votes as they shall appear from the said
                            certificates; and the votes having been
                            ascertained and counted according to the rules
                            in this subchapter provided, the result of the
                            same shall be delivered to the President of the
                            Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state
                            of the vote, which announcement shall be deemed
                            a sufficient declaration of the persons, if any,
                            elected President and Vice President of the
                            United States, and, together with a list of the
                            votes, be entered on the Journals of the two

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                            Houses. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 675;
                            Pub. L. 117-328, div. P, title I, Sec. 109(a),
                            Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5237.)
           321  Sec. 16. Same; seats for officers and Members of two Houses
                    in joint session
                    At such joint session of the two Houses seats shall be
                provided as follows: For the President of the Senate, the
                Speaker's chair; for the Speaker, immediately upon his left;
                the Senators, in the body of the Hall upon the right of the
                presiding officer; for the Representatives, in the body of
                the Hall not provided for the Senators; for the tellers,
                Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House of
                Representatives, at the Clerk's desk; for the other officers
                of the two Houses, in front of the Clerk's desk and upon
                each side of the Speaker's platform. Such joint session
                shall not be dissolved until the count of electoral votes
                shall be completed and the result declared; and no recess
                shall be taken unless a question shall have arisen in regard
                to counting any such votes, or otherwise under this
                subchapter, in which case it shall be competent for either
                House, acting separately, in the manner hereinbefore
                provided, to direct a recess of such House not beyond the
                next calendar day, Sunday excepted, at the hour of 10
                o'clock in the forenoon. But if the counting of the
                electoral votes and the declaration of the result shall not
                have been completed before the fifth calendar day next after
                such first session of the two Houses, no further or other
                recess shall be taken by either House. (June 25, 1948, ch.
                644, 62 Stat. 676; Pub. L. 117-328, div. P, title I,
                Sec. 110(c)(1), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5240.)
           322  Sec. 17. Same; limit of debate in each House
                    When the two Houses separate to decide upon an objection
                pursuant to section 15(d)(2)(C)(i) that may have been made
                to the counting of any electoral vote or votes from any
                State, or other question arising in the matter--
                                (1) all such objections and questions
                            permitted with respect to such State shall be
                            considered at such time;
                                (2) each Senator and Representative may
                            speak to such objections or questions for up to
                            five minutes, and not more than once;
                                (3) the total time for debate for all such
                            objections and questions with respect to such
                            State shall not exceed two hours in each House,
                            equally divided and controlled by the Majority
                            Leader and Minority Leader, or their respective
                            designees; and
                                (4) at the close of such debate, it shall be
                            the duty of the presiding officer of each House
                            to put each of the objections and questions to a
                            vote without further debate. (June 25, 1948, ch.
                            644, 62 Stat. 676; Pub. L. 117-328, div. P,
                            title I, Sec. 110(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat.
                            5240.)
           323  Sec. 18. Same; parliamentary procedure at joint session
                    While the two Houses shall be in session as provided in
                this chapter, the President of the Senate shall have power
                to preserve order; and no debate shall be allowed and no
                question shall be put by the presiding officer except to
                either House on a motion to withdraw under section
                15(d)(2)(C)(i). (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 676; Sept.
                3, 1954, ch. 1263, Sec. 3, 68 Stat. 1227; Pub. L. 117-328,
                div. P, title I, Sec. 110(b), (c)(2), Dec. 29, 2022, 136
                Stat. 5240.)
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                       united states senate procedures enacted in law