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On Agreeing to the Objection

Jan 7, 2021 at 3:08 a.m. ET.

This was a vote to exclude Pennsylvania from the 2020 presidential election.

The final step in the election of President of the United States is the counting of the Electoral College votes by a joint session of Congress on January 6 following Election Day to determine which candidate held a majority of votes. This step has been perfunctory for nearly the entire history of the country as the role of Congress under the Constitution is merely to count the votes sent by the states, with the administration of the election left to each state. During the counting on January 6, a representative and a senator together may lodge an objection to counting one or more Electoral College votes. The objection is debated in each chamber, and each chamber then votes on whether to sustain (yea) or reject (nay) the objection.

This House vote followed the objection by Rep. Perry and Sen. Hawley to the slate of electors sent by Pennsylvania.

A yea vote was a vote to exclude the Electoral College votes from Pennsylvania from the count to determine the next president.

This vote followed in the hours after the terrorist attack on the Capitol by supporters of President Trump who sought to prevent the count that would determine that President Trump had lost the election. The legislators who voted here to sustain the objection and those who participated in the attack on the Capitol made the same false allegations of widespread election fraud in various states that Trump lost. Eight representatives voting here to vacate Pennsylvania's election were themselves elected in that election.

Totals

All Votes D R
Yea 33%
 
 
138
0
 
138
 
Nay 67%
 
 
282
218
 
64
 
Not Voting
 
 
11
4
 
7
 

Failed. Simple Majority Required. Source: house.gov.

Ideology Vote Chart

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Republican - Yea Democrat - Nay Republican - Nay
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Cartogram Map

Each hexagon represents one congressional district. Dark shaded hexes are Yea votes.

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Vote Details

Notes: The Speaker’s Vote? “Aye” or “Yea”?
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Study Guide

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