In the United States, a certificate of ascertainment is an official document that identifies a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

's appointed electors for U.S. President and Vice President, and the final vote count for each candidate that received popular votes.

Procedure

After a

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

, the ascertainment is submitted by the governor of each state (and by the

mayor of the District of Columbia The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed ...

) to the

Archivist of the United States The Archivist of the United States is the head and chief administrator of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) of the United States. The Archivist is responsible for the supervision and direction of the National Archives. The ...

Certificate of Ascertainment of Electors, President and Vice President of the United States of America
District of Columbia (2016). and others, in accordance with 3U.S.C.§§6–14 and the

Electoral Count Act The Electoral Count Act of 1887 (ECA) (, later codified at Title 3, Chapter 1) was a United States federal law adding to procedures set out in the Constitution of the United States for the counting of electoral votes following a presidential ...

. Within the United States'

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...

, the certificates " epresenta crucial link between the popular vote and votes cast by electors". The certificates must bear the state seal and the governor's signature. Each state is free to choose the appearance and layout of the certificate. Staff from the

Office of the Federal Register The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration. The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', ''Public Papers of the Presid ...

ensure that each certificate contains all legally required information. States are required to produce either seven original certificates with two certified copies, or nine original certificates; of these, one original and either two more originals or two copies, are sent to the Archivist via

registered mail Registered mail is a mail service offered by postal services in many countries which allows the sender proof of mailing via a mailing receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was ...

or a commercial carrier. Both the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

receive one of the copies. When each state's electors meet to vote (on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December), they sign and record their vote on six "certificates of the vote", which are then paired with the six remaining certificates of ascertainment. One pair of certificates is sent to the

president of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

; two pairs are sent to the Archivist; two pairs are sent via registered mail to the state's secretary of state; and one pair is sent to the chief judge of the closest

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

. One of each of the two pairs sent to the Archivist and the secretary of state are designated for public inspection, while the others (and the chief judge's copy) are "held subject to the order of the President of the United States Senate". The Archivist must receive the certificates by the fourth Wednesday in December, and may take "extraordinary measures to retrieve duplicate originals" otherwise. The Vice President, as President of the Senate, opens the certificates in alphabetical order by state during a

joint session of Congress A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on a ...

in the House chamber on January6 and gives them to one of four "tellers", two from the House and two from the Senate, who, seated at the clerks' desks, tally the vote.

References

External links

2016 Electoral College certificates of ascertainment
from the National Archives
2020 Electoral College certificates of ascertainment
from the National Archives {{United States presidential elections Government documents of the United States United States Electoral College