NATIONWIDE - As the Trump campaign heads to court and elections officials across the country work to certify voting results, what comes next?


What You Need To Know

  • Timeline for 2020 Election includes certification period

  • “Safe Harbor” Deadline is time when states present findings on contested elections

  • Electoral College vote by states is December 14

  • More Decision 2020 headlines

The timeline it'll take for votes to be certified depends on each state and county.

For example, in Hillsborough County, officials already have their unofficial results certified.

They'll become official Friday after 5 p.m., when they obtain and count the last batch of overseas military ballots.

They'll send their certificates to Tallahassee.

When that's done--in other states as well--the governors prepare what's called Certificates of Ascertainment.

This includes the names of the electors chosen by the voters and the number of votes received.

One copy is sent to the federal Archivist, the others to the electors themselves who will meet on December 14.

But before that - and this is important for the states where legal challenges are happening of contested races - there's the “Safe Harbor” Deadline on December 8.

The governor of that contested election has to send the results of those legal challenges and what's been decided by the courts by that date.

So that by December 14, electors cast their votes for the Electoral College.