When Does Each State Certify Its Election Results?

by Katherine HugginsNovember 12, 2020, 10:54 pmDaily Digest, News, News Feed >

President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election to former Vice President Joe Biden, despite media outlets projecting him widely winning the electoral college. Most Republican politicians have echoed Trump’s rhetoric, refusing to acknowledge Biden’s victory until the results are fully certified.

Some states have already certified their results, but many — including battleground states that Biden narrowly flipped — have yet to certify their results.

The electoral college will convene on Dec. 14 to cast their votes for president, following each state’s certification.

Delaware, Oklahoma, Louisiana, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina and Wyoming have all certified their results already. Mississippi will certify its results tomorrow.

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Next Monday, Virginia will certify its results followed the next day by Florida, and then Arkansas, Idaho and Massachusetts on Wednesday.

The remaining states will certify their dates later, as listed below.

Important dates to note of certification in a state that is currently experiencing legal battles and/or controversy due to the narrow margin of the Biden win are: Nov. 20 (Georgia), Nov. 23 (Michigan, Pennsylvania), Nov. 30 (Arizona) and Dec. 1 (Wisconsin).

Nov. 20
Georgia
North Dakota

Nov. 23
Kentucky
Maine
Michigan
Pennsylvania
Utah

Nov. 24
District of Columbia
Indiana
Minnesota
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio

Nov. 25
Alabama
Alaska

Nov. 30
Arizona
Colorado
Iowa
Montana
Nebraska

Dec. 1
Kansas
Nevada
Wisconsin

Dec. 3
Connecticut
Oregon
Texas
Washington
West Virginia

Dec. 4
Illinois

Dec. 7
New York

Dec. 8
Maryland
Missouri
New Jersey

Dec. 11
California

Rhode Island, Tennessee, Hawaii and New Hampshire do not have specific certification deadlines written into state law.

Each state has its own process of canvassing, meaning validating ballots cast, and certifying, which is usually done by a state’s governor, chief election official or board of canvassers.

The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits attempting to stop certain states from certifying results, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, over baseless allegations of voter fraud. Courts have so far rejected GOP lawsuits which would block certification in n Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada.