An election result may have finally been called for Joe Biden, but with more than two months to go until the President-Elect is officially sworn in, the electoral process has only just begun.
The delay in a winner of the 2020 election being announced stemmed primarily from the unprecedented wealth of mail-in and absentee ballots cast as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
But while the counting of votes took longer than usual this year, it still came well under the parameters set by federal law, which only requires all votes to be tabulated by mid-December.
This is done to ensure that all vote-counting is completed in time for the next phase of the electoral process – the meeting of the electoral college.
The meeting of the electors traditionally takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year that falls on December 14.
The electors will meet in their respective states and cast their votes for president and vice-president on separate ballots.
The next step comes on January 6, when these votes are then counted in a joint session of Congress.
Vice-President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, will preside over the count before announcing the results of the vote.
The electoral process will finally conclude on January 20, when Mr Biden takes the Oath of Office and is officially sworn in as president of the United States.
