[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]
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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
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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