Electoral College

Disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and last-minute changes by the Trump administration, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Wednesday that the release of the first results of the 2020 census will likely be delayed by four months. The latest state population counts used to determine each state's share of votes in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College for the next decade are now expected by April 30.

The votes came after Congress reconvened hours after violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, forcing party leadership to evacuate the scene while rioters overtook the complex.

The U.S. Capitol was engulfed in chaos on Wednesday, as supporters of President Trump, responding to his call to head there, breached the complex, resulting in violence in the seat of America's federal government.

Electoral college delegates in all 50 states cast their ballots Monday. In Olympia, Washington’s 12 Democratic electors cast their ballots for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. It was an emotional experience for some, including for person running the meeting.

Supporters of President-elect Joe Biden hoped the milestone would end President Trump's false allegations of widespread fraud and unsuccessful attempts to overturn the results — but that is unlikely.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued four states that Joe Biden won, claiming their changes to election procedures during the pandemic violated federal law.

One justice writes: "It is not our role to lend legitimacy to such transparent and untimely efforts to subvert the will of Pennsylvania voters."

Here's how much longer it will take to count the votes in the remaining key states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Monday's decision brought a sigh of relief from election experts, who worried that if Electoral College delegates were free to vote as they chose, the 2020 election would have turned into a free-for-all, with no rules to prevent corruption and manipulation, with delegates offered gifts and even cash for their votes, and blackmail also a possibility.

Under state laws, Electoral College delegates are pledged to cast their ballots for the candidate who carries the popular vote in their state. But in 2016, seven cast votes for other candidates.