US election: Joe Biden officially secures Electoral College majority as California certifies

California’s approval of Biden’s win in the state brought his tally of pledged electors so far to 279, which is just over the 270 threshold for victory

The electors will meet in their states on December 14 to formally vote for the next president

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US President-elect Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:04am, 5 Dec 2020Updated: 9:42pm, 5 Dec 2020

California certified its presidential election on Friday and appointed 55 electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the Electoral College majority needed to win the White House.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s formal approval of Biden’s win in the state brought his tally of pledged electors so far to 279, according to a tally by Associated Press. That is just over the 270 threshold for victory.

These steps in the election are often ignored formalities. But the hidden mechanics of electing a US president have drawn new scrutiny this year as President Donald Trump continues to deny Biden’s victory and pursues increasingly specious legal strategies aimed at overturning the results before they are finalised.

Although it’s been apparent for weeks that Biden won the presidential election, his accrual of more than 270 electors is the first step toward the White House, said Edward B. Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University.

“It is a legal milestone and the first milestone that has that status,” Foley said. “Everything prior to that was premised on what we call projections.”

The electors named on Friday will meet on December 14, along with counterparts in each state, to formally vote for the next president. Most states have laws binding their electors to the winner of the popular vote in their state, measures that were upheld by a Supreme Court decision this year. There have been no suggestions that any of Biden’s pledged electors would contemplate not voting for him.