evidence: The electors of each state meet in their respective state capital on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday of December (between December 14 and 20) to cast their votes.[19][22] The results are sent to and counted by the Congress, where they are tabulated in the first week of January before a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, presided over by the current vice president, as president of the Senate.[19][23] Should a majority of votes not be cast for a candidate, a contingent election takes place: the House holds a presidential election session, where one vote is cast by each of the fifty states; the Senate is responsible for electing the vice president, with each senator having one vote.[24] The elected president and vice president are inaugurated on January 20. [...] In 1887, Congress passed the Electoral Count Act, now codified in Title 3, Chapter 1 of the United States Code, establishing specific procedures for the counting of the electoral votes. The law was passed in response to the disputed 1876 presidential election, in which several states submitted competing slates of electors. Among its provisions, the law established deadlines that the states must meet when selecting their electors, resolving disputes, and when they must cast their electoral votes.[23][109] [...] - ^ a b 3 U.S.C. § 15, Counting electoral votes in Congress.