Questions about how long it could take to certify Brown's election? Or whether there could be a delay in the Senate in seating him?
Here's a pocket guide to Question One, from Marc Ambinder:
Q. Can Democrats really delay seating Brown?
A. Probably. There are several built-in election procedure traps, including the counting of absentee ballots and ballots from soldiers overseas. If for some reason these ballots are counted and there are no significant challenges by the seventh day after the election -- that's next Wednesday -- State of the Union Day -- then Secretary of State Bill Galvin could certify the election if he wanted to. Harry Reid, the majority leader, won't seat a senator until the secretary of state certifies him or her. But a week is too short a time frame here: under federal law, overseas votes can arrive as late as January 29. Throw in a few days for the counting of provisional ballots, and we're into early February. Then the formal certification meeting happens, which can take an extra day, depending on who is where.
After the results are received from the local election officials, the secretary of state will present the total results to the governor and the Governor's Council for certification. Only after the results are certified by the governor and the Governor's Council can a certificate of election be issued. (The governor and the council schedule their own meetings, which usually take place on Wednesdays.)
On Question Two, Brian Beutler:
"When there is a certified winner in Massachusetts, the Senate has received appropriate papers and the vice president is available, the successor to Kennedy/Kirk will be sworn in," Reid spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle toldthe Washington Post last week.
According to the Secretary of the Senate, this falls directly out of Senate rules (specifically Rule 2). The Secretary of the Senate's office has said she needs the certificate before winner can be sworn in, according to a Senate Democratic aide. The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has said it will take "up to 10 days" to allow for absentee votes and the military votes to be counted, then cities and towns each have to certify the results, then the statehouse.
And have you heard the one about how Ted Kennedy was seated the day after his election? Well, it's true, and the wingnuts no doubt will want to make a mountain out of that molehill. But here are Brian Beutler and Eric Kleefeld on that one:
"Senators have always had to be certified to be sworn in," he says.
So why the exception for Kennedy? The short answer is the Senate disregarded its own rules and seated him despite lacking certification (the state certificate arrived a few weeks later). The longer answer is that there are some important differences between Kennedy's election 47 years ago and this year's race in Massachusetts.
Most crucially, according to Ritchie, the Senate was not in session in November, 1962, which means nobody was around to object to seating him immediately--the rules were waived and Kennedy was sworn in without certification. "Kennedy was sworn in the next day," Ritchie emails. "He won by a commanding majority, and the Senate was not in session, so there was no challenge, even though the paperwork for his certification came later."
Kinda hard to argue with a 47-year-old unanimous consent request that you now regret. But that's teabagger sentiment for you.
Bonus nerd points: Two other Senators-elect were added to the rolls the day after their elections, along with Kennedy. They were Tom McIntyre (D-NH) and Milward Simpson (R-WY).
Why? These three special elections apparently coincided with the general election of 1962, but because these three candidates were filling unexpired terms in the Senate (which seats, though the 87th Congress had adjourned sine die on October 13, 1962, continued in existence though vacant) they were entitled to seating in the Senate as members of the 87th Congress, as opposed to everyone else elected that November, who had been contesting seats for the 88th Congress.
The Senate being adjourned, however, Kennedy cast a grand total of zero votes before his certificate arrived, and his predecessor in the seat, Sen. Benjamin Smith, II (D-MA) himself cast a total of zero votes following Kennedy's election.
But if you're a teabagger, everyone's Hitler anyway, and facts = teh socialisms, so none of this matters.
And besides, the Dems are already diving out of the way.
Brown's supporters, of course, insist that the Senate "seat him now."
Well, they'll be starting the voting today on raising the debt ceiling, and by unanimous consent, the bill will require 60 votes to pass. Want to make your first vote on either raising the federal debt limit or sending the country into default? Come on down, I guess.
They might settle for "seat him later" on that one, though.