Kamala Harris To Oversee Certification Of 2024 Election Results

Vice President Kamala Harris will oversee the formal certification of Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory during a joint session of Congress, a routine but symbolic process to confirm the 2024 U.S. presidential election results.

This ceremonial role has precedent. In 1961, Vice President Richard Nixon verified the Electoral College win of his opponent, John F. Kennedy. Similarly, Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey (1969) and Al Gore (2000) presided over the certification of their own election defeats.

While lawmakers can object to state results during the session, recent reforms to the Electoral Count Act have clarified and limited the vice president’s ceremonial role.

These changes were prompted by the events of January 6, 2021, when then-President Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence to overturn Joe Biden’s victory—a move Pence had no legal authority to execute.

The certification sets the stage for the new president’s inauguration on January 20 at the U.S. Capitol.