Maryland’s 10 electors cast their votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday, sealing an historic win for the Democratic candidates in the state.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) called for a “peaceful transition of power” before the Democratic electors cast their votes at the Maryland State House on Monday. Hogan was one of the first prominent Republicans to publicly acknowledge Biden’s victory as President Trump refused to concede.
“The peaceful transition of power that we formally take part in here today is a hallmark of our democracy,” Hogan said. “At times it has been tested, sometimes even questioned, but it is a reminder that, despite our differences, we are united as Americans who honor the will of the people through the greatest and most enduring democratic process that the world has ever known.”
The Certificate of Vote for Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president, signed by the members of Maryland’s Electoral College. Photo from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Biden and Harris need 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes to win the presidential election. The pair will receive 306 votes, based on the results of the Nov. 3 election, including all 10 of Maryland’s votes.
Biden and Harris received more votes in Maryland than any previous presidential ticket in the state’s history, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis said. The pair defeated President Trump by a margin of 65.4% to 32.2% in the state.
“Their vote today is the first step of many in healing age-old divisions, addressing the hardships ahead, and building our country back better,” Lewis said.
Gloria G. Lawlah, the former Maryland Secretary of Aging and the president of the state’s Electoral College, called the vote a “repudiation of hate.”
“Today we are turning the page,” Lawlah said. “We are ensuring a better nation for our children, for our grandchildren, and a better nation for generations to come.“
While the Electoral College will seal Biden’s victory on Monday, the results could be challenged by Republican members of Congress. The New York Times reported that some of the president’s loyalists in Congress are planning to attempt a last-minute challenge in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats.
Congress will meet in a joint session on Jan. 6 to tally and confirm the Electoral College’s votes. Although Trump has continued to rail against the election results, he said last month that he would leave the White House if the votes go to Biden.
Both the House and Senate would have to agree to toss out the election results, although constitutional scholars and even congressional Republicans told the Times that such a challenge will almost certainly fail.
By Bennett Leckrone