(Reuters) - The normally little-noticed process by which individual states certify the results of U.S. elections is receiving extra attention this year as outgoing President Donald Trump tries to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Below are key dates by which states that were important in Democrat Biden’s victory must certify totals from the Nov. 3 vote and pick electors who will formally vote for Biden next month in the Electoral College:
GEORGIA: Georgia’s Secretary of State certified the election results on Friday. According to the results, Biden beat Trump in the state by 12,670 votes, or about 0.26 percentage points. Trump’s campaign has until Nov. 24 to request a second recount.
PENNSYLVANIA: Pennsylvania’s counties have until Nov. 23 to file returns with state election officials. State law does not set a deadline for completing certification. Unofficial results had Biden ahead of Trump in the state by more than 80,000 votes.
MICHIGAN: Michigan officials are due to meet on Nov. 23 to certify election results and will have as many as 20 days to do so, said Tracy Wimmer, a spokeswoman for the Michigan secretary of state’s office. State officials say every county has certified its results, but Republican officials in Wayne County, which includes Democratic stronghold Detroit, say they were pressured to certify the county’s results. The Republican officials said there were small discrepancies in the county vote counts. Unofficial results had Biden ahead of Trump in the state by more than 150,000 votes.
NEVADA: Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, is due to meet with state supreme court justices on Nov. 24 to certify the vote. A judge on Nov. 20 rejected an emergency bid by the conservative Election Integrity Project to halt the certification of results in Clark County, the state’s most populous county, over alleged fraud. Biden won Nevada by more than 33,000 votes, according to the Nevada secretary of state’s office.
ARIZONA: Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is due to review county vote tallies on Nov. 30 to certify results. Hobbs may postpone the final review on a day-to-day basis until Dec. 3. Unofficial results had Biden ahead of Trump in the state by more than 10,000 votes.
WISCONSIN: The state’s election commission has until Dec. 1 to certify the election results. Trump’s campaign paid the commission $3 million on Nov. 18 for a recount of the vote in two heavily Democratic counties. Across the state, unofficial results had Biden ahead of Trump by more than 20,000 votes.