In a few months, Vice President Kamala Harris will find herself in the peculiar position of certifying the results of her own election — whether she wins or loses. It’s a role that just a handful of vice presidents throughout history have undertaken.
On Jan. 6, both chambers of Congress will convene to count the electoral votes sent in by each state.
Harris — in her capacity as president of the Senate — will open the certified votes as they are tallied and announce the winner. This process is laid out in the 12th Amendment to the Constitution.
Her role, though, will only be ceremonial.
This was clarified in a 2022 law, passed after former President Donald Trump tried to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
The law states that the president of the Senate, in presiding over the joint meeting of Congress, will have “solely ministerial duties.”
It goes on to say they possess “no power to solely determine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate or resolve disputes over the proper list of electors, the validity of electors, or the votes of electors.”
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Past vice presidents who certified their own elections
To date, just a small number of sitting vice presidents have performed this duty — whether to certify their own victory or defeat.
Throughout the 248-year history of the U.S., just four sitting vice presidents have won a presidential election, according to CNN. These were: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren and George H.W. Bush — with the latter being the only modern president.
“George Bush of the state of Texas has received for president of the United States 426 votes,” Bush said on Jan. 6, 1989, to a joint session of Congress. “This announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected president and vice president of the United States.” (27 minutes in)
In modern times, there have also been a few sitting vice presidents who have run for president and lost. These include Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and Al Gore, according to PBS News.
On Jan. 6, 1961, Nixon presided over the count of electoral votes, and ultimately declared his defeat to John F. Kennedy.
“Nixon seemed to enjoy doing it,” according to The Washington Post . “Time and again he pumped humor, life and even a little political sense into the nearly two-centuries-old ceremonial.”
He also made a brief statement to the members of Congress, saying, “In our campaigns, no matter how hard-fought they may be, no matter how close the election may turn out to be, those who lose accept the verdict, and support those who win.”
Similarly, on Jan. 6, 2001, Gore, presiding over a joint session of Congress, said, “George W. Bush of the state of Texas has received for president of the United States 271 votes. Al Gore of the state of Tennessee has received 266 votes.
“May God bless our new president and our new vice president, and may God bless the United States of America,” Gore added.