Electoral College set to officially elect Joe Biden today

Across the country, at various times in state capitals, members of the nation's Electoral College are set to meet today and vote, making Joe Biden the president-elect of the United States.

The Trump campaign's legal team has mounted a bevy of challenges to the electoral results in a number of swing states, but those challenges have been rejected by federal courts, and the campaign's attempts to prevent states from certifying and choosing electors have failed, culminating in last week's refusal by the Supreme Court to hear the state of Texas' last-ditch lawsuit contesting the manner in which some states changed their absentee ballot rules.

In the absence of any surprise defectors, Biden is expected to receive 306 electoral votes today, more than the 270 needed to elect him as the nation's 46th president.

The Trump team has promised to continue to pursue legal challenges in the state court system; however, after electors cast their votes today, it seems highly unlikely that any court will hear further challenges or would be able to award any remedy that might undo the votes once they are cast, meaning that no plausible legal path to challenge Biden's election remains.

The only remaining step in the formal process of electing the president is the congressional counting of Electoral College votes, which will occur on Jan. 6. The Trump team has promised that an "alternate" slate of electors will meet today in certain contested states, but there is no legal precedent for recognition of this "alternate" slate, and there is little or no chance that Congress will recognize their votes.

When sworn in, Biden will become the oldest person to serve as president of the United States at the age of 78. Kamala Harris will become the first female and first person of color to serve as vice president of the United States. In the absence of a truly unexpected event, Biden and Harris will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021.