What to watch in the coming days as key states hit their certification deadlines
From CNN’s Kelly Mena, Annie Grayer, Ellie Kaufman, Casey Tolan and Katelyn Polantz
President Trump faces a critical week in his last-ditch effort to cling to power as key states are on the brink of certifying their election results, officially confirming Joe Biden as the President-elect.
States certify their results after reviewing disputed ballots, conducting post-election audits and double-checking numbers for accuracy. Federal, state and local election officials from both political parties have said there was no widespread fraud or irregularities in the 2020 election.
Here’s where things stand as vote certification looms in key states:
- Michigan: The state is supposed to certify its results Monday, and all eyes will be on the four board members to see if certification happens as planned, or if the two Republican members cow to outside pressure from Trump on top of a last-minute request from the Republican National Committee and state GOP to delay. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers is meeting now to vote on certifying the state’s election results. Biden leads in the state by more than 154,000 votes.
- Georgia: The state already certified the election on Friday and did a manual recount with state Republicans signing off on it, is doing another machine scan of the ballots at the Trump campaign’s request. Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s Voting System Implementation Manager, said Monday that the recount would probably start sometime Tuesday, and “will probably wrap up sometime next week.” The recount isn’t expected to change Biden’s lead over Trump, according to campaign law expert Jonathan Diaz, a CNN contributor.
- Pennsylvania: The Trump campaign was dealt a major blow in the state — where Biden also leads — when a federal judge dismissed their case in a sharply worded decision that prompted a GOP senator to come forward and say that enough was enough with Trump’s legal challenges. Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh; Lehigh County, which includes Allentown, and Lancaster County certified their election results Monday. Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt told CNN’s Kate Bolduan he expects the county, Pennsylvania’s largest, to certify later in the day. However, Republicans in Pennsylvania are asking a state court to step in on an emergency basis to stop the vote certification there, hours before most counties are expected to officially certify and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar signs off. The lawsuit seeks an immediate halt to the certification process and an invalidation of all mail-in ballots.
- Wisconsin: Recounts continue in two counties in the state, which CNN also projected for Biden, with counting ongoing until the Dec. 1 certification deadline. Trump’s campaign was unsuccessful on Friday in nullifying more than 60,000 ballots coming from the Democratic stronghold of Dane County, which includes the state capitol of Madison and is home to the University of Wisconsin.The Trump campaign is trying to overcome Biden’s significant vote lead but past recounts haven’t led to swings in the state of that level of votes, with the 2016 recount in the presidential race increasing Trump’s margin by just 131 votes.
- Arizona: The traditionally red state, which Biden flipped, will certify its election results on November 30, while its Maricopa County, home to much election night hand wringing, has already certified its results. Maricopa County, home to the state’s largest city of Phoenix, certified its election results on Friday, giving Biden a decisive 45,109 vote margin of victory in the county, leading the way in carrying the state for the President-elect. The certification came just one day after a state judge threw out the Arizona Republican Party’s lawsuit seeking a broader audit of votes cast on Election Day that county lawyers warned could have delayed the state’s certification of ballots.
Read more here.
Fauci says he has not talked to Biden
From CNN Health’s Jacqueline Howard
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says he has not spoken with President-elect Joe Biden recently.
He made the remarks during a live video interview with Washington Post national political reporter Robert Costa on Monday.
Costa asked whether Fauci has spoken with Biden since Election Day, to which Fauci replied:
“No, I have not.”
One Republican board member suggests he will certify Michigan votes
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
One of the two Republican members of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers signaled that he will certify the election results.
In his first public comments since the election, Aaron Van Langevelde gave a strong signal that he will vote to certify.
“I think we are pretty limited today. I think we have a duty to do this,” Van Langevelde said.
Should Langevelde vote yes, along with the two Democrats on the committee, the Michigan results will be certified – a step that would formally grant President-elect Joe Biden the state’s 16 electoral votes.
The other Republican on the committee, Norman Shinkle, is expected to vote against certifying the results, based on comments he has made in recent days.
However, Langevelde pushed to first open up the meeting to public comments before voting.
That comment period had now started and it is not clear how many of the hundreds of potential commentators will be allowed to speak before a vote.
Biden speaks to NATO Secretary General
From CNN’s Lindsay Isaac
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with President-elect Joe Biden on Monday to congratulate him and thank him for being a “long-standing supporter of NATO and the transatlantic relationship.”
The secretary general told Biden that he looked “forward to working very closely with him to further strengthen the bond between North America and Europe and to prepare next year’s meeting of NATO leaders.”
Michigan board is meeting now about election certification
From CNN’s Annie Grayer and Chandelis Duster
The Michigan State Board of Canvassers is meeting now to vote on certifying the state’s election results, a step that would formally grant President-elect Joe Biden the state’s 16 electoral votes.
Norman Shinkle, one of the Republican members of the board who CNN has previously reported is likely to vote against certification, is not wearing a mask. Shinkle appears to be the only person in the room not wearing a mask.
The certification of the results would be another blow to Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results through legal challenges that have been dismissed in key states and attempts to delay certifications.
There has been no evidence of widespread fraud nationwide. Michigan Secretary of State spokesperson Tracy Wimmer told CNN that they expect the board of state canvassers to certify at their scheduled meeting today.
Georgia recount could start Tuesday and last into next week
From CNN’s Jason Morris and Amara Walker
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office says the state’s recount could start as soon as tomorrow.
“We’re making the final decision on that today,” Gabriel Sterling, Voter Implementation Manager with the office said.
“It will probably be sometime tomorrow, and then we will probably wrap it up sometime next week. We are still working on the details. We want to talk to the counties first, we don’t want the counties reading the paper, what they are going to be told to do. We want them to have some equity in the decision making process on that,” Sterling said, during a zoom press conference today.
Under Georgia law, because the margin in total vote tallies is less than 0.5%, the Trump campaign had two business days after Friday’s certification to request a recount. They requested that recount on Saturday.
The recount will be taxpayer-funded, and will be conducted in each Georgia county using high speed ballot scanners.
There is no statutory deadline for the recount to be completed under Georgia law. Sterling said it will take between 1,800-2,200 man hours, across the state, to complete the recount.
Remember: President-elect Joe Biden, who was declared the winner last Friday as the state certified the results, is ahead by 12,670 votes or 0.2% over President Donald Trump in Georgia.
Biden announces foreign policy and national security team
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha and Gregory Krieg
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris just announced the members of their foreign policy and national security team.
In a Transition Team news release they listed the following:
- Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
- Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
- Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
- Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
- Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor
- John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Biden and Harris will formally introduce and announce the team tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. ET, according to the transition team.
Many of their nominees will make history. Here’s some more information on them:
- Alejandro Mayorkas has been nominated to be Biden’s secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and would be the first Latino to head the agency. Mayorkas, a former deputy secretary at DHS, will be tasked with rebuilding the department that the Trump administration used to enforce its draconian border policy, including family separation at the US-Mexico border.
- Avril Haines, a former top CIA official and deputy national security adviser, has been nominated for director of national intelligence and would be the first woman to hold the powerful post.
Biden will tap former US Secretary of State John Kerry as a special presidential envoy on climate. Kerry is a champion of the Paris climate agreement, which Trump formally withdrew from. Kerry was Biden’s pick to co-chair a “unity task force” on climate change with allies of Sen. Bernie Sanders after the Democratic presidential primary.
The transition team also confirmed CNN’s previous reporting that Biden will pick Antony Blinken to be secretary of state, Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be ambassador to the United Nations and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser.
Blinken, Biden’s top foreign policy aide, previously served in a deputy role during the Obama administration. Sullivan is another veteran foreign policy hand, and Thomas-Greenfield is a career diplomat with deep experience in the foreign service.
Sullivan and Thomas-Greenfield tweeted shortly after the announcement:
Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor says the election was “free, fair and election results are true”
From CNN’s Kelly Mena
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Monday said that the Keystone state’s November election was conducted fairly and accurately amid the state’s certification deadline.
Fetterman, a Democrat, was joined by Philadelphia County Commissioner Al Schmidt, a Republican, to push back against voter fraud and voting irregularity claims from the Trump campaign and Republicans.
“In a Democracy you are going to win some you are going to lose some but in Pennsylvania we have a true result and I am proud to work with Commissioner Schmidt, everyone — Republican or Democrat — across Pennsylvania that believes we can agree to disagree on some policies but we all collectively acknowledge the truth and that is Pennsylvania had a free, fair and accurate accounting of its democratic will,” said Fetterman to CNN’s Kate Bolduan.
When asked by Bolduan how pending litigation is going to affect the outcome of the election, Fetterman responded that he expects Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to be awarded to President-elect Joe Biden, who CNN has already projected as the winner of the state.
“Our Electoral votes are going to go to him,” Fetterman said. “And the Trump campaign is going to perhaps continue to lie about the conditions on the ground. But it’s not going to change anything. Everyone knows how this movie is going to end, including the President.”
Philadelphia County’s election certification coming “later today,” official says
From CNN’s Mark Morales
Philadelphia, the largest county in Pennsylvania, is expected to certify its election results by the end of the day, according to Al Schmidt, a Republican city commissioner who is among those responsible for overseeing the election process.
Philadelphia County represents the largest swath of votes in Pennsylvania and leaned heavily in President-elect Joe Biden’s favor.
“Philadelphia county will be certifying the election results later today,” City Commissioner Al Schmidt told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “There’s been no shortage of litigation. Given its lack of merit, one can only assume it’s intended to try to delay or disrupt things but that is obviously not going to happen.”
Republicans in Pennsylvania meanwhile are asking a state court to step in on an emergency basis to stop the vote certification there.
The lawsuit was filed by GOP Rep. Mike Kelly and others on Saturday. It alleges that Pennsylvania’s allowance of universal, no-excuse mail-in balloting was unconstitutional. The lawsuit seeks an immediate halt to the certification process and an invalidation of all mail-in ballots.
