It was unanimous.
On Monday, Congress officially certified the Electoral College results of the 2024 presidential election, confirming the victory of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. This certification was notable for being the first since 1988 without any objections from congressional Democrats.
The vote count was conducted by Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who served as tellers for the Senate, while Reps. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., performed the same role for the House. The tally revealed that Trump received 312 electoral votes, well above the 270 required to win, while Vice President Kamala Harris secured 226 votes.
The entire certification process was completed in a swift 30 minutes, a stark contrast to the lengthy 14 hours and 48 minutes it took in 2021. This year’s ceremony occurred four years after the January 6 Capitol riot, in which Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. Nearly 1,600 individuals are still facing charges related to the incident, and Trump has expressed intentions to offer clemency to some of them.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., attributed the smooth certification process to the absence of election deniers within the Democratic Party, highlighting their commitment to constitutional principles. In a pre-recorded message before the count, Harris emphasized that the peaceful transfer of power is a core tenet of American democracy, distinguishing the U.S. from authoritarian systems.
The certification followed the 2022 overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, which made it more difficult for lawmakers to challenge certified state results and clarified the vice president’s role as purely ceremonial. Despite heightened security measures and a winter storm in Washington, D.C., the certification proceeded without incident. The city’s ongoing preparations for the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter were also expected to cause disruptions.
