538 US officials are committing their votes in a formal step on the path to Biden’s presidency

Michigan’s electors cast their 16 votes for Joe Biden during their meeting on Monday in Lansing.

Biden rebuilt the “blue wall” with his Wolverine State victory this cycle, earning about 51% of the vote compared to President Trump’s 48%. This was a return to form for Michigan — Trump’s win there in 2016 made him the first Republican to win there since 1988.

The meeting of electors is the next major step in the Electoral College process to affirm the general election results. Electors are required by law to vote for president and vice president on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, which this year is Dec. 14. It takes 270 electoral votes of the 538 available to become president.

One of Michigan’s 16 electors was not in attendance for the vote, so electors voted on a replacement to fill the vacancy prior to casting their vote for president and vice president. Electors unanimously chose Sharon Baseman to replace Walter Herzig III. 

Some background: In the lead up to the vote, Rudy Giuliani and other Republican leaders tried to suggest that Michigan lawmakers could break from the popular vote and certified results, and instead appoint their own electors for Trump. Michigan law clearly states, however, that electors must vote for the candidate who receives the most votes. If an elector fails to vote for the political party that it was nominated by, that elector must resign and their vote does not count, the law states.

In the weeks before the Electoral College vote, Trump and his campaign tried to overturn Biden’s victory in the pivotal state, filling lawsuits and unsuccessfully pressing GOP election officials to block the results from being certified.

Gov. Whitmer spoke earlier: