The 2016 Electoral Votes (those formally cast by Presidential Electors back on 19 December 2016: these Electors having been "appointed [as well as- at least theoretically- "pledged"] via the results of the Presidential Election in each of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia back on 8 November 2016) are counted and tabulated before a Joint Session of both houses of Congress, presided over by the constitutional President of the Senate (Vice President Joe Biden), after which it is officially declared who has been elected President and Vice President of the United States of America.
Vice President Joe Biden gaveled the Tabulation Joint Session of the U.S. Congress to order at 1:07 PM EST (1807 GMT)
538 total Electoral Votes (1 per each U.S. Senator and Representative in Congress to which each State is entitled, plus 3 for D.C.)- thus, there were 538 duly appointed Presidential Electors re: 2016.
Objections were raised by a handful of Representatives in Congress to the counting and tabulating of the Electoral Vote from the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming; but, as no United States Senator had joined in any of these objections in writing, the Chair ruled each and every such objection out of order and the counting and tabulation of the Electoral Vote by State in alphabetical order proceeded in each such case.
The Certificates of the Electoral Vote from all 51 jurisdictions, therefore, seemed "to be regular in form and authentic" and the total Electoral Vote as "ascertained and delivered to the President of the Senate" by the four Tellers- two from each house of Congress, one from each side of the aisle:
from the UNITED STATES SENATE:
- Senator Roy BLUNT (R-Missouri)
- Senator Amy KLOBUCHAR (D-Minnesota)
from the U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
- Congressman Robert BRADY (D-Pennsylvania)
- Congressman Gregg HARPER (R-Mississippi)
was determined to be as follows:
270 Electoral Votes (a Majority of same) necessary to elect
ELECTORAL VOTE for President of the United States:
- for DONALD J. TRUMP of New York: 304 votes
- for HILLARY R. CLINTON of New York: 227 votes
- for COLIN POWELL of Virginia: 3 votes
- for JOHN KASICH of Ohio: 1 vote
- for RON PAUL of Texas: 1 vote
- for BERNIE SANDERS of Vermont: 1 vote
- for FAITH SPOTTED EAGLE of South Dakota: 1 vote
ELECTORAL VOTE for Vice President of the United States:
- for MICHAEL R. PENCE of Indiana: 305 votes
- for TIMOTHY M. KAINE of Virginia: 227 votes
- for ELIZABETH WARREN of Massachusetts: 2 votes
- for MARIA CANTWELL of Washington: 1 vote
- for SUSAN COLLINS of Maine: 1 vote
- for CARLY FIORINA of Virginia: 1 vote
- for WINONA LaDUKE of Minnesota: 1 vote
Therefore, it was officially declared that
- DONALD J. TRUMP was elected President of the United States
- MICHAEL R. PENCE was elected Vice President of the United States
for four-year terms beginning at Noon EST (1700 UTC), 20 January 2017.
After his announcement of the final, certified Electoral Vote for President and Vice President (as already noted above) was briefly interrupted by a few protesters in the gallery (each of whom was removed therefrom by Capitol Police, acting for the Sergeant at Arms of the House on order from the Chair), Vice President Biden dissolved the Tabulation Joint Session at 1:41 P.M. EST (1841 GMT).
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