title: Electoral Count Act

text: During the 2000 election recount, the U.S. Supreme Court in "Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board" remanded the election contest to the Florida Supreme Court, asking it to consider the implications of this section and the "safe harbor." Later, in "Bush v. Gore", the U.S. Supreme Court observed that the state court had said that "the [state] legislature intended the State's electors to 'participate fully in the federal electoral process,' as provided in 3 U.S.C. § 5." With the deadline (safe harbor) date having arrived, the Court held that because Florida did not have a recount procedure in place that would both meet the deadline and comply with due process standards (as identified by the majority), the recounts ordered by the state court would be terminated. This effectively ended the election contest after Al Gore declined to pursue further litigation.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: On December 3, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito set a deadline of December 8 (the safe-harbor date for 2020) for Pennsylvania officials to respond to a request to throw out the state's mail-in voting results, or possibly the entire Pennsylvania election in Representative Mike Kelly's suit at the Supreme Court. On December 8, the Supreme Court denied the application for a writ of injunction.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: On December 7, 2020, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit in the Supreme Court, "Texas v. Pennsylvania", alleging that Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin violated both various federal and state laws by changing their election procedures in the run-up to the election. Numerous parties and states filed either in support of Texas or opposing it. Attorneys general of 20 states, two territories, the District of Columbia, and other various parties (only states and the District have voting electors) filed an opposing motion to dismiss the Texas lawsuit. Attorneys general from 18 states, members of defendant state legislatures, and other various parties filed in support of Texas, six of those states filed to join the lawsuit. The attorneys general of Ohio and Arizona filed neutral motions noting that the United States Supreme Court has a duty to rule on the matter however both expressed no further opinion. The Defendant state attorneys general argued that their claims are incorrect and would disenfranchise voters, while Plaintiffs argued that their mishandling of the election dilutes legal votes with fraudulent votes. The US Supreme Court affirmed that it had jurisdiction over the matter on December 11, 2020, but denied the motion for leave to file a bill of complaint for "lack of standing".


title: Electoral Count Act

text: On December 27, 2020, Texas Representative Louis Gohmert filed a suit in US District Court seeking to give Vice President Mike Pence full authority to declare which slate of electors would be accepted by Congress. According to the "National Review", even at the time the bill was enacted, some in Congress doubted whether the Act can bind a future Congress. The district court dismissed the suit for lack of standing on January 1, 2021. The dismissal was upheld by an appeals court panel the next day.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: During the election of 1876, Congress received electoral votes from multiple slates of electors in several Southern states. While the Twelfth Amendment describes how electors must meet and cast their votes, it did not foresee multiple competing slates of electoral votes from the same state. To help avoid this problem in future elections, Section 3 of the Electoral Count Act created an "ascertainment" process to help Congress determine who the state's valid electors are, including a role for the governor.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Section 3 (now ) requires the governor of each State to prepare seven original copies of a "certificate of ascertainment", each under the seal of the state, which identifies the electors appointed by the state and the votes they received, as well as the names of all other candidates for elector and the votes they received. The electors that are being appointed are determined “under and in pursuance of the laws of such State providing for such ascertainment.” The name of the presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate do not need to appear on the certificate; neither do the number of votes. The certificates only need to state the names of the slate of electors. Each state is free to choose the appearance and layout of the certificate. The Office of the Federal Register ensure that each certificate contains all legally required information, but substantive legal issues must be decided by the Congress and the Courts.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The certificate must be issued "as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the appointment of electors in [a] State by the final ascertainment, under and in pursuance of the laws of such State providing for such ascertainment ..." The certificates must be prepared as soon as possible after election day and copies must be delivered to the electors on or before the day on which they are required to meet and cast their votes. Details of the processing of the completed certificates varies between elections but, generally, sets of certificates must be sent to various state and federal officials including, by registered mail, to the Archivist of the United States. The Archivist will transmit sets to the House and Senate before the Electoral College meets.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: If an election had been contested, also provides that "if there shall have been any final determination in a state in the manner provided for by [state] law of a controversy or contest," then the governor must, "as soon as practicable after such determination," communicate, "under the seal of the State ... a certificate of such determination in form and manner as the same shall have been made."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Notably, the relevant clause in differs substantively from the original clause in Section 3 of the 1887 law, as shown below:


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Under the original version, the clause appears to apply only in situations where the final determination satisfies the Section 2 "safe harbor." The current version requires a certificate to be sent regardless of whether the safe harbor applies. The difference may be relevant since Section 4 (now ) prohibits Congress from rejecting any electors "whose appointment has been lawfully certified to according to [3 U.S.C. § 6]." ("See" Substantive counting rules below.)


title: Electoral Count Act

text: This process was used by the state of Florida following the 2000 election when it submitted a "Certificate of Final Determination of Contests Concerning the Appointment of Presidential Electors" that was signed by the governor and secretary of state. As narrated by an attorney in the Office of the Federal Register at the time:


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The electors meet to vote on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December. As noted above, the Twelfth Amendment simply requires the electors to sign, certify, seal, and transmit their votes (now known as the "certificate of vote") to the president of the Senate. However, a clause in Section 3 required the governor to deliver certificates of ascertainment to the electors, to be "inclosed and transmitted" by them along with their votes. The electors must now make and sign six certificates of vote, and annex to each one of the list of electors that has been "furnished to them by direction of the governor." These are sent along with the certificates of ascertainment to the president of the Senate, the Archivist, the state's secretary of state, and the chief judge of the closest United States district court. One of each of the two pairs sent to the Archivist and the secretary of state are designated for public inspection, while the others (and the Chief Judge's copy) are "held subject to the order of the President of the United States Senate". The Archivist must receive the certificates by the fourth Wednesday in December, and may take "extraordinary measures to retrieve duplicate originals" otherwise.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Section 3 originally required the transmission of certificates to the Secretary of State. The current law () assigns the relevant duties to the Archivist of the United States. The law requires the Archivist to preserve the certificates for one year, make them "a part of the public records of his office," and make them "open to public inspection." At the first meeting of the new Congress, the Archivist must transmit to both houses "copies in full of each and every such certificate so received." In modern practice, these and other administrative tasks related to the Electoral College are handled by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) within the National Archives and Records Administration.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: In the current era, OFR mails information packets to the state governors in the fall of each election year. After the election, OFR attorneys "carefully vet the facial legal sufficiency" of the certificates they have received. If correctable errors are discovered, they try to remedy them before Congress convenes the joint session to count the votes. While this process is not set out in statute, "the logic of the law" leaves it to the Office "to inform the officers of the House and Senate of any irregularities and to coordinate state and federal actions for the final counting of votes."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: There are "more than a few things that can go wrong." OFR attorneys must sometimes track down "bewildered bureaucrats" surprised to learn of their duties, with some state officials even claiming that their state has "abolished" the Electoral College. In some instances, federal officials including members of Congress have been chosen to serve as electors, in violation of Article II which states that "no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector." OFR has retrieved certificates from a variety of places, "rummaged through mailbags" on Christmas Eve, called on state police to help find electors who forgot to sign the Certificate of Vote, etc., to correct problems before Congress meets to count the votes.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Following the 2000 election, the Florida Legislature contacted OFR seeking to learn the technical process to revoke the ascertainment of electors certified by the secretary of state, and replace it with a new set of electors to be appointed directly by the Legislature under Article II of the Constitution. OFR advised that while there was no precedent for such a "do-over," it would "work out a way to follow the Constitution and federal law." The Supreme Court decision in "Bush v. Gore" made the matter moot.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Section 4 of the Electoral Count Act (now ) provides both detailed procedures and counting rules for specific situations. It significantly expands upon the Twelfth Amendment, which states only that "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: This central section of the Electoral Count Act has been significantly criticized. It is a "mammoth section some 814 words in length" that makes for difficult parsing, and "[m]any of its substantive rules are set out in a single sentence that is 275 words long."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Under Section 4 (), Congress is required to be in session on January 6 following the election to count the votes, although this date can be changed by law. Due to the 20th Amendment, the joint session is conducted by the new Congress whose term begins on January 3, rather than the outgoing lame-duck Congress. The Senate and House must meet in the House Chamber at "1 o'clock in the afternoon" on January 6, and the president of the Senate – the sitting vice president of the United States – is the presiding officer. Section 7 () specifies the seating arrangements in the House chamber.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Two tellers must be "previously appointed" by the Senate and two tellers by the House of Representatives. The president of the Senate must open all the "certificates" and "papers purporting to be certificates" of the electoral votes, and hand them to the four tellers as they are opened. The certificates and papers must be "opened, presented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the letter A." The tellers, "having read the [papers] in the presence and hearing of the two Houses," must "make a list of the votes as they shall appear from the ... certificates."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: If there are any objections to the returns from any state (see Substantive counting rules below), they must be resolved before the process can continue to the next state: "No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon until the objections previously made to the votes or papers from any State shall have been finally disposed of." For an objection to be considered and voted on, it must be in writing and made by at least one representative and one senator. This has happened only four times. The first time was in 1969, with an objection to a faithless elector in North Carolina. The second was on January 6, 2005, with a formal challenge to Ohio's electoral votes. Two objections were made at the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count. On January 6, 2021, an objection was made to Arizona's electoral votes by Representative Paul Gosar and Senator Ted Cruz, and on January 7, an objection was made to Pennsylvania's electoral votes by Representative Scott Perry and Senator Joshua Hawley.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The structure of the Electoral Count Act's procedural provisions generally requires that any questions arising during the counting process be determined by the two houses acting separately, rather than by both houses together on the House floor. Section 5 (now ) states that "the President of the Senate shall have power to preserve order; and no debate shall be allowed and no question shall be put by the presiding officer except to either House on a motion to withdraw." Section 6 (now ) states that whenever the two Houses have separated "to decide upon an objection ... or other question arising in the matter," each senator and representative may "speak to such objection or question" for five minutes, and not more than once. After the debate has lasted two hours, the presiding officer of each House must "put the main question without further debate." Once the two houses have both voted, "they shall immediately again meet, and the presiding officer shall then announce the decision of the questions submitted."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Section 7 (now ) states that the joint session cannot be dissolved "until the count of electoral votes shall be completed and the result declared." No recess can be taken "unless a question shall have arisen in regard to counting any such votes, or otherwise under [Title 3, Chapter 1]," in which case either House, acting separately, can recess itself until 10:00 am the next day (Sunday excepted). But if the counting of the electoral votes and the declaration of the result have not been completed before the fifth calendar day after the joint session began, "no further or other recess shall be taken by either House."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The Constitution instructs that electoral votes must be sent to the president of the Senate – who is the sitting vice president of the United States – and that the Senate president must "open all the certificates" in the presence of both houses. However, the sitting vice president is sometimes a candidate for president in the election, is often a candidate for re-election to the vice presidency, and is almost always a partisan with a keen interest in the outcome. Recognizing this, one key purpose of the Electoral Count Act's procedural provisions is "to drain away as much power as possible from the Senate president, whom the [law] appoints to preside at the joint session when Congress counts the votes."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: As the custodian for papers, the Senate president is required by the Constitution to "open "all" the certificates," which the Act further describes as "all the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates." In doing so, the goal of the Act "was to reduce the Senate President's discretionary power as gatekeeper to the absolute minimum..." Indeed, in one case from 1889, papers sent as a "practical joke" were presented to the joint session. Whether the Senate president can be required to present or not present any particular paper is an open question, but one commentator argues that concurrent action by both houses would settle the matter while disagreement between the houses would see the Senate president's decision upheld.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The Electoral Count Act's provisions governing debate and procedure, prescribed to be followed by the Senate president as the presiding officer during the joint session, are unusually specific (see above), with one early commentator describing them as "exhaustive" and as good "as human wit can divine." These provisions "seem designed to drain as much power as possible away from the Chair and give it to the two houses." After the 2000 election, Vice President Al Gore ruled that a number of procedural motions were out of order by extending the Act's formal requirements for substantive objections – that is, to be presented in writing and signed by both a Representative and a Senator – to procedural questions. This suggests that if procedural motions and appeals were made in that manner, they would be allowed and the two houses would have to separate to consider them.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The structure of Section 4 () separates the substantive counting rules primarily in two sentences. The first describes the rule for making objections, and includes limits on congressional rejection of votes where "but one return [from the state] has been received." The second, very lengthy sentence relates to situations where "more than one return or paper purporting to be a return" has been received."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Under Section 4 (), upon reading of "any certificate or paper, the president of the Senate shall call for objections, if any." Every objection must be made in writing, and must "state clearly and concisely, and without argument," the ground for the objection. It must be signed by at least one senator and one member of the House of Representatives before the objection can be received. Once all objections to any vote or paper from a state have been received and read, the Senate withdraws and the two houses consider the objections separately.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: However, when considering such objections, Section 4 requires that – assuming "but one return [from the state] has been received" – no electoral votes from electors whose appointment has been "lawfully certified" under the ascertainment process (see above) can be rejected. The two houses may only reject a vote or votes if both houses agree that such vote(s) have not been "regularly given" by an individual elector or electors. Under the law, Congress may still reject a state's electors if both houses decide to do so, but only when they determine either that the appointment of electors was not "lawfully certified" by the governor under the ascertainment process, or that the votes themselves were not "regularly given" by the electors.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The phrase "regularly given" is generally understood as referring to issues regarding an elector's actual vote, rather than whether the elector has been properly appointed. It could include, for example, situations where an elector cast a particular vote because of bribery or corruption, or mistake or fraud. It may also include situations where the elector did not vote in accordance with applicable constitutional and statutory requirements.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Notably, this portion of Section 4 applies to all cases where a single return is received, regardless of whether the safe harbor under Section 2 () applies or not. Since safe harbor determinations are supposed to be "conclusive," there is some tension between the provisions since Section 4 still allows for Congress to reject a state's votes. One commentator finds the conflict "more apparent than real," arguing that Section 4 only allows for rejection of safe-harbor electoral votes in cases involving "the electors' post-ascertainment conduct" and to "constitutional infirmities in their status as electors or in the votes they cast."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: This provision of the law was designed to resolve the significant question in the nineteenth century regarding the proper role of Congress in reviewing controversies about which electors a state had appointed. It has been described as reflecting a balance between giving Congress unfettered ability to reject a state's electoral votes vs. deferring to state determinations, which was a significant topic of discussion during the Reconstruction era.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: The first time an objection occurred was in 1969, in response to a faithless elector from North Carolina who voted for George Wallace instead of Richard Nixon. Representative James O'Hara and Senator Edmund Muskie raised the objection, which was subsequently rejected by each chamber by a vote of 170-228 in the House and 33-58 in the Senate.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: After the 2004 United States presidential election, Senator Barbara Boxer of California joined Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio in filing a congressional objection to the certification of Ohio's Electoral College votes due to alleged irregularities including disqualification of provisional ballots, alleged misallocation of voting machines, and disproportionally long waits in poor and predominantly African-American communities. The Senate voted the objection down 1–74; the House voted the objection down 31–267.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Following on attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election leading up to congressional certification, Representative Paul Gosar and Senator Ted Cruz filed an objection to the certification of the electoral votes of Arizona. The two houses withdrew and debated the objection, but were evacuated during an attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters. After the crowd was expelled and the Capitol secured, the question was taken up again and the Senate rejected it 6–93 and the House rejected it 121–303. Representative Scott Perry and Senator Josh Hawley later filed an objection to the electoral votes of Pennsylvania with the result that the objection was rejected 7–92 in the Senate and 138–282 in the House.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: In cases where multiple returns have been submitted from a state, Section 4 () seeks "[to direct] Congress away from an open ended search for the proper return, and towards the simpler issues of identifying the state's final determination authority and whether that institution had reached its decision according to the terms and conditions of [3 U.S.C. § 5]." It seeks to "reduce to a minimum the cases where any difference can properly arise." In one sentence of 275 words, the law appears to envision three different scenarios:


title: Electoral Count Act

text: However, this critical sentence then follows: "But if the two Houses shall disagree in respect of the counting of such votes, then ... the votes of the electors whose appointment has been certified by the executive of the State, under the seal thereof, shall be counted."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Commentators have differed over the interplay between the governor's "tiebreaker" sentence and the lengthy 275-word sentence that precedes it. There is broad agreement that the tiebreaker must modify the third scenario of multiple returns where none can claim the safe harbor. However, a possible ambiguity involves the second scenario in which multiple returns "do" claim the safe harbor:


title: Electoral Count Act

text: L. Kinvin Wroth, writing in 1960, stated that the tiebreaker only applies to the third scenario, in which there has been no safe harbor determination by state authorities. Thus, in the second scenario where two returns claiming the safe harbor are received, "[i]f the Houses cannot agree ... no vote from the state in question is counted. This result follows regardless of the governor's action." In 2001, a Congressional Research Service report authored by Jack Maskell "embraced Wroth's view of the statute, citing and quoting Wroth's article extensively." Maskell's CRS report also added more arguments based on the legislative history of the Electoral Count Act.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: For example, Senator George Hoar, who introduced the tiebreaker as a floor amendment, mentions it only in the context of the third scenario where there is no safe harbor determination. Senator Hoar stated that "if the amendment which I have proposed shall be adopted no case can arise under this bill of rejecting the vote of any State except in the single case of dual State governments," seemingly referring to the second scenario above. Hoar said the bill tells a State: "Appoint your own judicature in your own fashion to determine this question; if you "do not" do it, we shall assume that you desire that the certificate of your governor shall determine it."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: In contrast, Stephen A. Siegel argues textually that based on punctuation, the tiebreaker provision should be read "as relating to the entire preceding sentence, not just to the clause after the final semicolon." Siegel viewed the main purpose of amendments that led to the tiebreaker being added as being to "respond to congressmen concerned about the power of one house of Congress to disenfranchise a state when there were multiple returns." He reads the legislative history differently, and notes that the conference report states as follows:


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Siegel also argues that if the two Houses disagree about whether a return claiming the safe harbor has actually satisfied the safe harbor requirements, the Wroth-Maskell reading would prevent them from counting any other return. That is, "a return that claims (safe harbor) status may not trump all, but it does forestall all," which Siegel argues is not what Congress could have intended.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: These provisions were a reaction to the problem of multiple returns encountered in the 1876 United States presidential election, before the Electoral Count Act was passed. From four states – Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Oregon – two sets of returns were transmitted to Washington, D.C.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Hawaii became a state in 1959. In its first presidential election in 1960, Vice President Richard Nixon won the popular vote by a narrow 141 vote margin: Governor William Quinn certified the Republican electors, and they cast Hawaii's three electoral votes for Nixon. When the election was challenged in court, the Democratic electors cast three electoral votes for President-elect John F. Kennedy, but cast them later than the safe harbor deadline. A certification for the Democratic votes was issued when a recount resulted in Kennedy being declared winner by 115 votes. When both Democratic and Republican electoral votes from Hawaii were presented for counting, Vice President Nixon graciously, and saying "without the intent of establishing a precedent", permitted the Democratic votes for Kennedy to be counted.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: In 2020, several Republican groups, including some groups of electors slated by the Republican Party and defeated in popular voting, cited the Hawaii precedent and held events naming alternative electors who would vote for Donald Trump. None of these electors was appointed as an elector by any organ of state government, or certified as electors by their state governors. Moreover, all states except Wisconsin had certified their results by the "safe harbor" deadline, which under the Act is "conclusive." None of those certifications included these alternative electors. Observers, including the conservative "National Review", described these electors as "extralegal," "bizarro," and "hav[ing] no actual significance."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Once the votes have been "ascertained and counted in the manner and according to the rules ... provided" by the Act, "the results ... shall be delivered [by the tellers] to the president of the Senate." The Senate president "shall thereupon announce the state of the vote, which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons, if any, elected President and Vice-President of the United States." An earlier version of the bill would have required the Senate president to announce "the names of persons, if any, elected," but the phrase was stricken with the Conference Report explaining that the reason for the change was "to prevent the President from doing more than announcing the state of the vote as ascertained and delivered to him by the tellers..."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: To be elected by the electoral college, the Constitution requires that a candidate receive "a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed." One early virtue of this wording was that if certain states decided not to participate in the election by failing to appoint any electors, a president could still be elected by a majority of those who were appointed.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: However, when Congress "rejects" a state's electoral vote, or chooses not to count any of multiple competing returns, "the effect that decision has on the denominator that determines whether a candidate has more than fifty percent of the electoral vote is an entirely open issue." For example, if there are currently 538 total votes, and all votes from a state that appointed 20 electors are rejected, a majority could either remain as 270 votes out of 538, or be reduced to 260 votes out of 518. Historical precedent is split, and in those previous cases where a state's electors were rejected or considered for rejection (for example, in 1872), it has never determined whether the winning candidate had achieved a majority. "Perhaps because the diversity of strongly held views might imperil the delicate web of compromises supporting the [Electoral Count Act], Congress avoided addressing the issue in the [Electoral Count Act]."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: A future joint session "might be called upon to address the effect of this situation" without clear precedents. While Congress would likely be able to decide the issue by a vote of both houses during a future session, if one house finds that a candidate has achieved a majority and the other house disagrees, the Electoral Count Act provides no default rule nor any path forward. Nor can the Senate president play any role in deciding the matter, since his or her role in delivering results is strictly limited by the Act to receiving the tellers' lists and "announc[ing] the state of the vote.". The Senate president does not announce "the names of persons elected," since Congress specifically rejected that option as explained above.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: If no candidate is determined to have a majority, then the contingent election procedure described in the Twelfth Amendment would be used. The House, voting by states, would elect the president as happened in 1824, and the Senate would elect the vice president as happened in 1836.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: By imposing strict limits on procedures, debate, and recesses, the Electoral Count Act is designed to help Congress achieve an election result before the term of the outgoing president ends. Nevertheless, if no new president (or vice president) has been elected by that time, the Twentieth Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act would mean that the Speaker of the House would be sworn in as acting president. Notably, Section 1 of the amendment makes clear that the terms of the outgoing president and vice president "shall" end on January 20 at noon; they cannot be extended except by constitutional amendment.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: One commentator has described situations in which ambiguities under the Electoral Count Act could cause the two houses to disagree about whether the electoral count has been completed, or to disagree about whether a new president has been chosen, and describes a situation where this could lead to competing claims to the presidency.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: At least one commentator, Vasan Kesavan, has argued at length that the Electoral Count Act is unconstitutional, arguing that the counting scheme must be established by way of constitutional amendment:


title: Electoral Count Act

text: On December 27, 2020, seeking to change results expected from counting of electoral votes required to take place on January 6, 2021, Texas Representative Louie Gohmert and several Arizona Republicans filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court seeking a declaration that the Electoral Count Act was unconstitutional and that Vice President Pence had the full freedom to reject any and all electoral vote certificates unilaterally, with no recourse to appeal by either House of Congress. The Justice Department, representing Pence in his official capacity, responded with an argument that the issues raised by the suit should be addressed to the House and Senate, not to the Vice President; not doing so, the department said, represented a "walking legal contradiction" as Gohmert was suing the person whose power he sought to further. In an amicus brief, the House of Representatives concurred. On January 1, 2021, Judge Jeremy Kernodle dismissed the case saying all of the plaintiffs lack standing and therefore the court "is without subject matter jurisdiction".


title: Electoral Count Act

text: On appeal, the three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case on January 2, finding, for the same reasons as did the district court, that "no plaintiff has… standing."


title: Electoral Count Act

text: On January 6, the plaintiffs (acting as applicants) petitioned Justice Alito for an administrative stay, which was referred to the full court. The applicants asked that the court direct the vice president to refrain from invoking the dispute-resolution provisions of the ECA, pending resolution of a petition of a writ of certiorari. On January 7, the application was denied by the court. The entire case became moot because the counting of electoral votes commenced on January 6 and completed in the early morning of January 7.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Vice President Richard Nixon, acting as chairman of the joint session counting electoral votes for the 1960 U.S. presidential election, made a ruling allowing late-filed votes against him. In 1969, Hubert Humphrey recused himself from the count. Gore in 2001, Biden in 2017, and Pence in 2021 all rejected many challenges to certifying the results of elections that their party lost.


title: Electoral Count Act

text: Various attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election involved the counting process, leading to calls for the Act to be strengthened. Various proposals were introduced, including the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, announced on July 20, 2022, and introduced in a Senate bill on July 20, 2022. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have endorsed the bill, along with all other Democrats and more than ten Republicans in the Senate.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: "Lalisa" (stylized in all caps) is the debut solo single by Thai rapper and singer Lisa, a member of South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released by YG Entertainment on September 10, 2021 as the lead single from her debut single album of the same name. Written and produced by long-time YG collaborator Teddy Park, along with Bekuh Boom and 24, "Lalisa" is characterized as a dynamic hip hop track taking influence from Thai culture.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: Commercially, "Lalisa" entered the US "Billboard" Hot 100 at number 84 and peaked at number two on the "Billboard" Global 200, becoming Lisa's first top-ten hit on the chart. An accompanying music video was simultaneously uploaded to Blackpink's YouTube channel with the single's release; the video received 73.6 million views within 24 hours, becoming the most-viewed music video in a single day from a soloist on the platform. Upon its release, "Lalisa" received criticism for its lyrics and composition; however, Lisa herself was praised for her charisma and quality of performance. The song won Best K-Pop at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, making Lisa the first K-pop soloist ever to win an MTV Video Music Award.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: Following the release of bandmate Rosés debut single album "R" in March 2021, attention towards Lisa surfaced as the next member to debut as a solo artist. In an article published by "The Korea Herald" on April 19, a representative from YG Entertainment revealed that Lisa would debut as the third soloist from her group with schedules to be officially announced through a notice later in the year. On July 25, Lisa uploaded two images featuring herself in a studio onto her Instagram stories with the caption "What's my name?", hinting at the title of her upcoming release. On August 25, YG confirmed that her solo debut single album would be titled "Lalisa", after her given name; the agency subsequently unveiled the track-listing for the album, revealing that the single of the same name would serve as the title track. The song was released on September 10, 2021, and was made available for digital download and streaming. The track was written and produced by long-time Blackpink collaborators Teddy Park and Bekuh Boom, with additional production credits by 24.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: Stylistically, it is characterized as a dynamic hip hop and EDM track that infuses Thai elements in the song's dance break. The track's production utilizes "provocative" brass riffs and dynamic rhythms that are reminiscent of sounds of sirens, and incorporates the repetition of 'Lalisa' in the lyrics. In terms of musical notation, the song is composed in the key of E-flat major and carries a tempo of 150 beats per minute. The name of the single album along with its title track is a reference to her given name she received upon visiting a fortune teller while she was young as a gesture for good luck. The week after changing her name, YG Entertainment informed her that they have accepted her into the agency as a trainee. Nolan Feeney from "Billboard" magazine noted that the "title track expands on the maximalist, globe-trotting sound of Blackpink bangers like 'How You Like That' with rapid-fire flows and nods to her Thai heritage".


title: Lalisa (song)

text: Most critics were unfavorable towards the song's composition and lyrical content while praising Lisa's performance. Writing for "The Harvard Crimson", Allison S. Park stated that Lisa's "formidable rapping skills shine through" but criticized the "absence of a cohesive lyrical narrative." In a negative review, Rhian Daly of "NME" asserted that "instead of being the shining, swaggering triumph you might expect, its quality is disappointingly low." Referring to the track as "awkward", she also felt that the lyrical content contained no "heart or soul" and instead focused more on "empty brags" which did not reach its intended effect. In a similar review, Park Soo-jin of "IZM" pointed the song "fully conveys her identity as a Thai and shouts about musician Lisa's dignity here and there, but it's not very impressive." Park added that success of the song didn't came "from the perfection of the song, but from the brand power that began with Blackpink and 'inside' Lisa." On a more positive note, Chase McMullen of "Beats Per Minute" said that "it's Lisa's performance that deftly takes main stage, with her flipping through the song's numerous changes with such smoothness as to make each component feel perfectly natural." Writing for "Teen Vogue", Erica Gerald Mason observed that Lisa "hits every musical and creative note as she sings, raps, and dances."


title: Lalisa (song)

text: "Lalisa" debuted at number two on the "Billboard" Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S., marking Lisa's first solo entry and top-ten song on the chart. The song charted on the Global 200 for ten weeks, tying for the longest-charting song by a K-pop soloist until overtaken by Lisa's B-side track "Money". In South Korea, the song debuted at number 90 on the Gaon Digital Chart on the week dated September 5–11, with less than two days of tracking. The following week, the song rose to a peak at number 64. The song also debuted at number 28 on the "Billboard" K-pop Hot 100. The song peaked at number one in Malaysia and number two in Singapore.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: In the United States, "Lalisa" debuted at number 84 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and at number six on the Digital Song Sales chart with 9,600 digital copies sold in its first week, giving Lisa two top-ten hits on the latter chart alongside "Money". The song also debuted atop the US "Billboard" World Digital Song Sales chart, her first chart-topper as a soloist. In the United Kingdom, "Lalisa" debuted at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 13 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. In Canada, the song debuted at number 42 on the Canadian Hot 100 and at number seven on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: An accompanying music video for the song was uploaded to Blackpink's YouTube channel in conjunction with the release of "Lalisa"; the video was preceded with a teaser—which was released via the same platform three days earlier. The music video became the most-viewed debut video and the most-viewed video by a soloist in 24 hours, garnering 73.6 million views; the video broke the records of Rosé's "On the Ground" and Taylor Swift's "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie, which received 41.6 million views and 65.2 million views in 24 hours, respectively. The music video surpassed 100 million views in 49 hours, 200 million views in 13 days, and 300 million views in 48 days, the fastest to reach these marks by any K-pop female solo artist.


title: Lalisa (song)

text: The visual includes numerous costume changes, including an intricate ensemble based on traditional Thai culture. Lisa sits on an elaborately-sculpted throne donning a golden beaded dress and cape, earcuffs with golden jasmines, and a tall pointed headdress called "rad klao yod" (รัดเกล้ายอด in Thai) that is worn mainly in traditional dance forms. After the music video was released, the sale of traditional outfits surged at a popular market in the Thai capital, Bangkok. The Phanom Rung temple that was depicted in the music video in Buriram also increased in visitors. Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha commended Lisa among Thai artists whose work reflects a dedication to inspire Thais in creative industries and expressed interest in promoting Thailand’s soft power following the success of "Lalisa".


title: Lalisa (song)

text: Following the release of her single album on September 10, Lisa debuted the title track the same day on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". The title track's choreography was choreographed by Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau and Lee-jung Lee. On September 19, she performed "Lalisa" on SBS's "Inkigayo", marking her solo debut on South Korean television. Lisa performed the song on MBC's "Show! Music Core" on September 25 and again on SBS's "Inkigayo" on September 26.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: The Project 23900 "Ivan Rogov" is the newest class of Russian amphibious assault ships intended as a replacement for the French , two of which were ordered by Russia in 2011, but that France refused to deliver in September 2014 due to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. A contract was signed on 22 May 2020 for the construction of two Project 23900 ships with a displacement of 40,000 tons. The construction is led by JSC Zelenodolsk Design Bureau, which is a part of JSC Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation, and the first vessel should be launched by 2023 and commissioned by 2025.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: Previously, the Lavina (), and Priboy () designs were proposed by the Nevskoe Design Bureau and Krylov State Research Center as the replacement for "Mistrals".


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: Initially, the "Priboy" and "Lavina" helicopter carrier designs were first revealed in June 2015 during the "ARMY-2015" military-technical forum, as a replacement for the two undelivered "Mistral"-class vessels ordered by Russia in 2011 under a $1.3 billion contract. However, due to the Western sanctions against Russia, the French refused to proceed with the delivery and the deal was suspended in 2015. France subsequently returned to Russia the deposit paid for the construction of the two vessels. Both vessels were later sold to the Egyptian Navy.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 25 May 2017, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yury Borisov stated that the construction cycle of new Russian helicopter carrier would last at least four years and the first such ship will be completed by 2022.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: In June 2017, Vice President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Igor Ponomarev said the "Priboy" helicopter carriers were implemented in Russia's New State Armament Programme for 2018–2025 and that the construction of the ships could be carried either by Severnaya Verf, Baltic Shipyard or Sevmash.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: In July 2017, a member of the Russia's State Duma Dmitry Belik announced, the lead ship of the class will be named "Sevastopol", after the city of Sevastopol. The cost for the ship is to be about RUB40 billion ($675 million), and its construction would begin after approval of the New State Armament Programme for 2018-2025.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 11 September 2019, it was reported that the first and second vessel of the class will be laid down in May 2020 at Zaliv Shipyard, Crimea.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 22 May 2020, according to a TASS news agency report, the Russian Defence Ministry had signed a RUB100 billion deal for the construction of two universal landing ships, the construction of which will take place at the Zaliv Shipyard in Crimea. The two vessels should be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2026 and 2027, respectively.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 20 July 2020, during the laying down ceremony, the names of the first two ships were officially revealed. The ships were named "Ivan Rogov" and "Mitrofan Moskalenko", the same as two already decommissioned vessels.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 28 February 2021, it was reported that the shipbuilders had begun to build the hulls of two future amphibious assault ships. It was also reported that construction was going on schedule, that the displacement of each of them will be 40,000 tons, and that the ships will be able to carry up to four Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B drones, to both perform strike missions and to perform target designation for the hypersonic Zircon missiles launched from other ships.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 11 October 2021, it was reported that "Mitrofan Moskalenko" will become the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. Infrastructure facilities initially intended for the second "Mistral"-class vessel are being prepared in Sevastopol, scheduled to be ready by the time the ship is commissioned.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: "Lavina" was the first designation for the class, revealed at the «ARMY-2015» military-technical forum, and stands for the heavier variant designed by Krylov with a displacement of about 24,000 tons. "Priboy" used to refer to the lighter variant designed by Nevskoe, and displacing about 14,000 tons.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: Based on images showed to Vladimir Putin at January 2020 exposition devoted to the future for the Russian Navy, the two Project 23900 ships ordered for the Russian Navy appear to be a design derivative from the French , having similar architecture and dimensions. The Project 23900 will be even larger and displace about 40,000 tons.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 20 July 2020, at the official ceremony for the laying down of the Project 23900, a computer-generated image was showcased to represent the warship. Based on that image, the design of Project 23900 looks like a hybrid between the Lavina and the "Mistral".


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 14 December 2021, it was reported that the Project 23900 ships will be able to carry strike and reconnaissance drones, which will greatly enhance the helicopter carriers' combat capabilities.


title: Project 23900 amphibious assault ship

text: On 6 January 2022, it was reported that the amphibious assault ships will be armed with mine warfare unmanned surface vessels, which will detect, identify, and destroy sea mines. This will allow the vessels to operate independent from the support of minesweepers, allowing them to independently fulfill missions in blue waters.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American billionaire businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97–1.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker spent her early career in business. She worked her way up through the Pritzker family business, eventually being appointed as one of three successors to her uncle, Jay Pritzker. She is the founder of PSP Partners, PSP Capital Partners, and Pritzker Realty Group, and co-founder of Artemis Real Estate Partners and Inspired Capital. She is on the board of Microsoft, and chair of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. As of October 2021, "Forbes" estimated her net worth at US$3.2 billion. In 2009, Forbes named Pritzker one of the 100 most powerful women in the world.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Before entering government service, Pritzker had been involved in many Chicago organizations, including the Chicago Board of Education, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and her own foundation, the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation. Pritzker was an early supporter of Obama's presidential candidacy, having been a friend of the Obama family since their time in Chicago.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Since 2021, she has been a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Penny Pritzker was born in Chicago in 1959, the daughter of Sue (née Sandel) and Donald Pritzker. She is a member of the Pritzker family of Chicago, a wealthy and influential Jewish business family. Donald Pritzker was one of the co-founders of Hyatt Hotels. He moved the family to Atherton, California, where business for the Hyatt Hotels began to grow. Penny has two younger brothers, Tony ( 1961) and J. B. Pritzker ( 1965), the incumbent Governor of Illinois.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Young Penny would accompany her father to the hotels and check the cleanliness of the ladies restrooms. In 1972, Don died suddenly of a heart attack when Penny was 13years old. Following Don's death, Sue began battling depression, requiring Penny to at times care for her mother and her younger brothers. At age 16, Penny wrote a letter to her grandfather, and head of the family business empire, A.N. Pritzker, in which she asked why he talked business with the men in the family and not with her. Finally realizing Penny's interest in business, A.N. provided her with a summer course in accounting.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Penny attended Castilleja School until 1977. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Harvard College in 1981. The following year, Penny's mother died after falling out of the passenger side of a tow truck. Penny returned to school, earning both a Juris Doctor and an MBA from Stanford University in 1985.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: After she earned her degrees, Pritzker joined the Pritzker organization encouraged by her cousin Nick Pritzker. In 1987, she founded Classic Residence by Hyatt, later renamed Vi, upscale housing for seniors as an alternative to nursing homes. The project struggled at first, losing $40million in the first 18months, but turned around after changes in marketing and management. In 1991, Jay Pritzker, Penny's uncle and head of the Pritzker family businesses, named Penny as the director of the Pritzkers' non-hotel landholdings. With that appointment, Penny created the Pritzker Realty Group, which developed apartment buildings, shopping centers, and the Baldwin Park neighborhood in Orlando, Florida.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: From 1991 to 1994, Penny Pritzker was chairperson of the Hinsdale, Illinois-based Superior Bank of Chicago, in which Jay Pritzker had purchased a 50% stake from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, who had taken over the bank when it failed. In 1993 the bank "embarked on a business strategy of significant growth into subprime home mortgages", according to a report by the United States Treasury Department. In 2000 it became clear the bank was faltering. In the months leading up to 2001, the Pritzkers tried to work out a recapitalization plan. In July 2001, the FDIC seized the bank after the recapitalization could not be resolved. Subsequently, the Pritzker family reached an agreement with regulators to pay $460million.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: According to the FDIC, by 2011 the uninsured depositors of Superior had each received 81% of their uninsured monies, in addition to the $100,000 each previously received of their insured amount. Industry experts have criticized the Pritzkers in regard to Superior. Consumer advocates and government investigators asserted Superior "engaged in unsound financial activities and predatory lending practices". Responding to "The Wall Street Journal", Pritzker noted she had no ownership in the bank, either direct or indirect, and that the bank's reasons for failure "were complex, including changes in accounting practices, auditing failures, reversals in regulatory positions and general economic conditions". She said the bank complied with "fair lending laws" and ethical business practices. A 2001 "Business Week" article described the bank's other owner, Alvin Dworman, as the more dominant partner in its operation as a result of agreements made by Jay Pritzker. Quoted in "The New York Times", a Pritzker family friend observed Pritzker was trapped in a deal of her uncle's making: "Penny got sucked into this…this was really the legacy of Jay."


title: Penny Pritzker

text: In 1995, Penny was named as one of three successors to the retiring Jay Pritzker besides his son Tom and his cousin Nick. Tom was named the official head of the businesses, Nick and Penny each named vice-chairman. Together, the three were to oversee the Pritzker family assets. Jay intended to keep the family business together, devising a system of trusts that would allow individual family members to receive money from the trusts to meet their needs; however, the family's wealth was to be primarily maintained in the trusts to grow the businesses and fund philanthropic endeavors. The Pritzker business empire contained over 200 businesses and was valued at $15billion.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: After Jay Pritzker's death in 1999, other Pritzker family members challenged Tom, Nick, and Penny's control of the businesses in multiple lawsuits. Penny's brothers joined in one of the lawsuits. In 2001 Tom, Nick, and Penny decided to sell family assets to allow eleven cousins to receive a share, dissolving the family's business ties. Disentangling the family's business interests took nearly a decade. The family sold its controlling stake in the Marmon Group to Berkshire Hathaway for $4.5billion in 2008. The Pritzker Realty Group sold Parking Spot, an airport parking management business Penny co-founded in 1998, to Green Courte Partners LLC for $360million in 2011.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Starting in 2005, she served as non-executive chairman of TransUnion. In 2009, she co-founded Artemis Real Estate Partners LLC, a real estate investment management company, with Deborah Harmon. In 2011, she founded an investment office, PSP Capital Partners. Altogether, Pritzker started five companies before joining the federal government.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker's friendship with Barack Obama and his family dates back to the 1990s when he was a professor at the University of Chicago. Pritzker met Obama at a Chicago YMCA where her son participated in a basketball program coached by Obama's brother-in-law Craig Robinson. Obama and his family were frequent guests at Pritzker's Lake Michigan vacation home.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker was an early supporter of Obama's political career, helping to finance his 2004 Senate campaign. Early in the Democratic presidential primary, Pritzker's financing helped Obama's candidacy survive when Obama was trailing Hillary Clinton in the polls. Pritzker remained a major fundraiser for Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary and raised millions overall for his White House bid. She served as the national finance chair of Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Under her direction, the campaign reached out to small donors. Pritzker also hosted more lavish fundraisers as part of her effort to raise money.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Following Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election, CNN reported that Pritzker was president-elect Obama's top choice for Commerce Secretary. However, Pritzker took herself out of the running. According to the "Chicago Tribune", she withdrew her name from consideration "due to obligations to her family, for whom she was still overseeing billions in assets, and the financial crisis, which was putting some of those assets at risk". As a result of her public support for President Obama, Pritzker found herself the target of labor groups for Hyatt Hotels' practices. The president of Unite Here cited her connection to Obama as a reason why the group expected her to use better labor practices as the group staged demonstrations against Pritzker.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker was a member of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. She also served on the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Although she was less active in the 2012 Obama campaign than she had been four years prior, she served as national co-chair of Obama for America 2012. She was also on the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank focused on world affairs and U.S. foreign policy.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker was nominated as United States Secretary of Commerce by President Barack Obama on May 2, 2013. To avoid conflicts of interest, Pritzker agreed to sell her interest in at least 221 companies and resign from 158 entities, including the Hyatt board of directors and the Chicago Board of Education. Later that month, on May 23, the Senate held its confirmation hearing, which covered a variety of topics. Although Pritzker's family business dealings had been a target of Republican criticism when Obama announced her nomination, only three questions at the hearing related to her family. Pritzker was confirmed by the full Senate on June 25, by a vote of 97 to 1. Pritzker was sworn in as secretary on June 26, 2013.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Among Pritzker's priorities was the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade agreement that would have been the "largest regional trade agreement in history". Pritzker supported the TPP as a way to provide market access to U.S. businesses and as a way for the U.S. to set the standards for trade. Leading up the 2016 presidential election, in which both major party candidates openly opposed the TPP, Pritzker and other Obama officials continued to push for the TPP's passage in Congress. Ultimately, Congress failed to pass the TPP bill.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker named a Digital Economy Board of Advisors, which included tech industry CEOs and academics, to advise on policy. Pritzker also expanded the IP attache program, which helps the tech industry protect their intellectual property abroad. As secretary, Pritzker also created the Commerce Data Advisory Council to identify priorities for the Department of Commerce, a prolific publisher of data intended to allow businesses to plan and innovate. Pritzker served as the lead negotiator for the United States in the E.U.–U.S. Privacy Shield, an agreement governing how companies transfer digital data from Europe to the United States.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Following President Obama's announcement that the United States would move towards normalizing relations with Cuba, Pritzker traveled to Cuba. Although Obama's change in policy did not end the U.S. trade embargo, since ending the embargo required an act of Congress, Pritzker met with Cuban trade ministers and other officials to discuss the changing relationship between the two countries and to lay the groundwork for more economic involvement.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker is involved in public education. She was a member of the Chicago Board of Education and is past chair of the Chicago Public Education Fund. Pritzker was elected to a six-year term on the Harvard Board of Overseers in 2002. In 2018, she was elected to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, which oversees Harvard University. Pritzker was advisory board chair of Skills for America's Future (SAF), a policy initiative of the Aspen Institute. Pritzker is a former chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: Pritzker and her husband, Bryan Traubert, have their own foundation called the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation. The foundation focuses on physical activity for young people and increasing economic opportunity in Chicago. Among their initiatives were a $5million donation to converting grass soccer fields to easier-to-maintain turf and a $1million donation to repair tennis courts around Chicago. The Pritzkers also established ChicagoRun, a program that prepares Chicago-area children to run their first 5k race.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: In 2012 "Chicago" magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful Chicagoans. On March 26, 2014, "Elle" honored Pritzker, with others, at the Italian Embassy in the United States during its annual "Women in Washington Power List".


title: Penny Pritzker

text: In February 2018, Pritzker was elected to succeed Harvey V. Fineberg as chairperson of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, taking effect May 2018.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: In March 2020, Pritzer set up the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund, to assist non-profit organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, after receiving a call from her brother, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker. The siblings announced the creation of the fund with $23 million in start up money on March 24, 2020, six days after Governor Pritzker's request. Pritzker and her husband contributed $1.5 million of the initial sum.


title: Penny Pritzker

text: In the 1980s, Pritzker completed her first Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. Pritzker trained for six months and ultimately finished the race in 12hours. In addition to competing in triathlons, Pritzker has also run marathons. Pritzker is married to ophthalmologist Bryan Traubert, with whom she has two children. Although her relationship with her brothers became strained following the family business restructuring, they eventually reconciled, and Penny expressed support for the idea of younger brother J.B. running for office in 2017.


title: Mohammed Aziz

text: Mohammed Aziz (born as Sayeed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi; 2 July 1954 – 27 November 2018), also known as Munna (Name Given By Legendary Music Composer Akshaya Mohanty, was an Indian multilingual playback singer who primarily sang for the Bollywood, Odia films., Bengali and He sang about twenty thousand songs, including Bhajans,Sufi devotional songs and other genres in more than ten different Indian languages. He made his first appearance in films Odia film titled "Jaga Hatare Pagha" directed by Mohammad Mohsin, with the song "Rupa Sagadi re Suna Kaniya". This is one of the most popular songs in Odisha and is sung in almost all the marriages. Later He Sung Most Numbers of songs in Odia and for Ollywood Actor Siddhanta Mahapatra. Later he appeared with a Hindi film titled "Ambar" (1984) and His two prominent songs, including "Mard Tangewala" composed by Anu Malik were introduced in "Mard".


title: Mohammed Aziz

text: He had sung numerous duets in 1980s and 1990s with singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, K.S.Chithra , Sulakshana Pandit, Vijayta Pandit, Usha Mangeshkar, Anuradha Paudwal, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, S. Janaki, Alka Yagnik, Salma Agha, Hemlata, Sapna Mukherjee, Chandrani Mukherjee, Poornima, Sarika Kapoor, Uttara Kelkar and Alisha Chinai. Many of his songs such as "Main Deewana Na Jana Kab", "Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka", "My Name Is Lakhan", "Main Teri Mohabbat Mein", "Aap Ke Aa Jane Se", "Aajkal Yaad Kuchh" and "Dil Le Gayi Teri Bindiya" are recognized among the prominent songs he sang as a playback singer. He could sing at the 7th note (Saatwan Sur).


title: Mohammed Aziz

text: Originally a restaurant singer, he went to Mumbai around 1984 where he was introduced to the Hindi cinema by Anu Malik. The recipient of two uncertain awards for Best Playback Singer, his last film was "Kaafila". Prior to this, he sang for the film "Karan Arjun.


title: Mohammed Aziz

text: He was involved with music during his childhood. Later He started his professional musical career in films Odia film titled Manini (1979) Under Great Odia Music Composer Radha Krushna Bhanja and later He Sung Most Numbers of songs in Odia and Ollywood Actor Siddhanta Mahapatra . Later He appeared with a Bengali film titled "Bouma" (1986). He went to Mumbai for better career opportunities in film industry where he was introduced to Bollywood's film "Ambar" (1984) by music director Sapan-Jagmohan; however his first prominent singing role appeared in "Mard" film, by music director Anu Malik. The title song "Mard Tangewala" of this film became a super hit. After the success of this song he had several hits in 1985 such as "Aate Aate Teri Yaad Aa Gayi" from Jaan Ki Baazi. Since then, he was the most sought after singer in Bollywood film industry in that decade. He worked with several famous music directors such as Naushad, Shankar–Jaikishan, O. P. Nayyar, Ravi, Khayyam, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R. D. Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan, Usha Khanna, Anu Malik, Anand–Milind, Jatin–Lalit, Ravindra Jain, Raamlaxman, Aadesh Shrivastava, Nadeem-Shravan, Viju Shah, Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen among others. He had sung nearly 250+ songs for Laxmikant Pyarelal which is the highest for any composers he has sung for. He had also sung Lord Jagannath, bhajans, private music albums and Odia film songs until he was introduced as a playback singer in Hindi language films. Besides working in films, he also participated in stage shows in India and other countries.


title: Mohammed Aziz

text: During his career, Mohammed Aziz has sung for Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Naseeruddin Shah, Hemant Birje, Chunky Pandey, Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav, Siddhanta Mahapatra, Shah Rukh Khan, Nana Patekar, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Raj Babbar, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Sumeet Saigal, Farooq Sheikh, Jackie Shroff, Aditya Pancholi and several others. Apart from the female singers, he appeared in some duets with Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Suresh Wadkar, Manhar Udhas, Shailendra Singh, Nitin Mukesh, Kumar Sanu, Vinod Rathod and Sudesh Bhosle.


title: Mohammed Aziz

text: He was arriving from Kolkata to Mumbai on 27 November and he subsequently collapsed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport where he was taken to Nanavati hospital for medical treatment. He died at hospital on 27 November 2018 of cardiac arrest, aged 64.


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: If You Want Blood You've Got It (written as just If You Want Blood) is the first live album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, and their only live album with Bon Scott as lead vocalist. It was originally released in the UK and Europe on 13 October 1978, in the US on 21 November 1978, and in Australia on 27 November 1978. The album was re-released in 1994 on Atco Records and in 2003 as part of the "AC/DC Remasters" series.


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: The album was released six months after the band's previous studio album "Powerage". A 'best-of' package called "12 of the Best" had been in the works, but the project was scrapped in favour of a live album. It was recorded during the 1978 "Powerage" tour and contains songs from "T.N.T.", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Let There Be Rock", and "Powerage". It is the last Bon Scott-era AC/DC album produced by Harry Vanda and George Young, who also produced the band's first five studio releases.


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: In his 1994 Bon Scott memoir "Highway to Hell", author Clinton Walker observes, "Live albums, which tended to be double or triple sets in which songs short in their studio versions were stretched out into extended tedium, were for some reason popular in the seventies. "If You Want Blood" reversed this tradition... it boasted a blunt ten tracks and, allowing nothing extraneous, got straight to the point, that being raging AC/DC rock and roll."


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: A concert at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland on 30 April 1978 was used for the live tracks. It has never been confirmed if any other tracks from the tour were also used. The concert is also remembered for the encore, when AC/DC came back on stage dressed in the Scottish football strip, paying homage to Scott's and the Young brothers' homeland.


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: "Dog Eat Dog", performed on the night, was removed from the album release, while the encore – "Fling Thing/Rocker" – was edited, removing "Fling Thing" and cutting out Angus's extended solo, as he did a walk around the audience (with an early version of a wireless guitar lead). This part of the band's concert theatrics later accompanied "Let There Be Rock"; "Rocker" has been performed only a few times since Bon Scott's passing in 1980. The live "Dog Eat Dog" was released as the b-side of the single "Whole Lotta Rosie" in November 1978, but only in Australia. It was rereleased worldwide in 2009 on the two (standard) and three (collectors) CD boxed set compilation "Backtracks", featuring Australian-only songs not released internationally at the time, and live b-Sides from 7" and 12" singles. The encores "Fling Thing" and "Rocker" (with a complete guitar solo) appeared only on footage of the concert by a Dutch TV station played at the time, but were eventually released on the "Family Jewels" DVD.


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: According to the 2006 book "AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll", the album title was an extension of Scott's response – at the Day on the Green festival in July 1978 – when a journalist asked what they could expect from the band. The singer replied, "Blood." The cover art is from a shoot with Atlantic Records' staff photographer Jim Houghton before a show at Boston's Paradise Theater, the idea for which came from Atlantic's art director Bob Defrin.


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: A song titled "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" appeared on the next album: the band's US chart breakthrough, "Highway to Hell".


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: The album is often considered to be one of the greatest live albums of all time. In a 1992 interview with "Metal Hammer" at the time of the band's second live release, Malcolm Young admitted, "I personally still prefer the old album. We were young, fresh, vital and kicking ass." Greg Prato of AllMusic notes, "While most other rock bands of the era were busy experimenting with disco or creating studio-perfected epics, AC/DC was one of the few specializing in raw and bluesy hard rock, as evidenced by 1978's live set, If You Want Blood You've Got It." Eduardo Rivadavia of "Ultimate Classic Rock" enthuses, "Other concert records may boast more songs, more Top 40 hits or even more crowd-pleasing gimmicks. But very few can challenge the sheer excitement and reckless abandon captured on AC/DC’s terrific concert document." The album was listed at #2 on "Classic Rock" magazine's readers' poll of "50 Greatest Live Albums Ever". Carlo Twist of "Blender" magazine praised the album, saying that "They were always a mighty live act, and this is the sound of AC/DC in Europe just prior to 1979's U.S. breakthrough. The audience's hysteria regularly cuts through the amps, as they howl along to singer Bon Scott's tale of sexually transmitted disease ("The Jack") and punctuate guitarist Angus Young's staccato riffing on "Whole Lotta Rosie." Imagine a punk-rock Chuck Berry played at nosebleed volume."


title: If You Want Blood You've Got It

text: The entire Glasgow concert was filmed but the complete footage has never been released. Eventually, "Riff Raff" and "Fling Thing/Rocker" segments were made available on the DVD "AC/DC Family Jewels", released in 2005. Video footage was also used from the show on "Family Jewels" using the "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" studio version audio track promotional clip. Segments from the concert (the songs "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation", "Dog Eat Dog" and "Let There Be Rock") were made available on the DVD "Plug Me In", released in 2007. "Bad Boy Boogie" was included on the bonus disc on the three-disc edition of "Plug Me In".


title: Trial balance

text: A trial balance is a list of all the general ledger accounts (both revenue and capital) contained in the ledger of a business. This list will contain the name of each nominal ledger account and the value of that nominal ledger balance. Each nominal ledger account will hold either a debit balance or a credit balance. The debit balance values will be listed in the debit column of the trial balance and the credit value balance will be listed in the credit column. The trading profit and loss statement and balance sheet and other financial reports can then be produced using the ledger accounts listed on the same balance.


title: Trial balance

text: The first published description of the process is found in Luca Pacioli's 1494 work "Summa de arithmetica", in the section titled "Particularis de Computis et Scripturis". Although he did not use the term, he essentially prescribed a technique similar to a post-closing trial balance.


title: Trial balance

text: The purpose of a trial balance is to prove that the value of all the debit value balances equals the total of all the credit value balances. If the total of the debit column does not equal the total value of the credit column then this would show that there is an error in the nominal ledger accounts. This error must be found before a profit and loss statement and balance sheet can be produced. Hence trial balance is important in case of adjustments. Whenever any adjustment is performed run trial balance and confirm if all the debit amount is equal to credit amount.


title: Trial balance

text: The trial balance is usually prepared by a bookkeeper or accountant who has used daybooks to record financial transactions and then post them to the nominal ledgers and personal ledger accounts. The trial balance is a part of the double-entry bookkeeping system and uses the classic 'T' account format for presenting values.


title: Trial balance

text: A trial balance only checks the sum of debits against the sum of credits. That is why it does not guarantee that there are no errors. The following are the main classes of errors that are not detected by the trial balance.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: The first Emmy Award ceremony took place on January 25, 1949. The first daytime-themed Emmy Awards were given out at the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in 1972, when "The Doctors" and "General Hospital" were nominated for Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Drama. That year, "The Doctors" won the first Best Show Daytime Emmy. In addition, the award for Outstanding Achievement by an Individual in a Daytime Drama was given to Mary Fickett from "All My Children". A previous category "Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming" was added once in 1968 with individuals like "Days of Our Lives" star Macdonald Carey nominated. Due to voting rules of the time, judges could opt to either award one or no Emmy, and in the end they decided that no one nominated was deserving of the golden statuette. This snub outraged then-"Another World" writer Agnes Nixon, causing her to write in "The New York Times", "...after viewing the recent fiasco of the Emmy awards, it may well be considered a mark of distinction to have been ignored by this group."


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: Longtime "General Hospital" star John Beradino became a leading voice to have daytime talent honored with special recognition for their work. The first separate awards show made just for daytime programming was broadcast in 1974 from the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center in New York. The hosts that year were Barbara Walters and Peter Marshall. For years, the gala was held in New York, usually at nearby Radio City Music Hall, with occasional broadcasts from Madison Square Garden. In 2006, the Daytime Emmys was moved to the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, the first time they had ever been held outside of New York. The Kodak Theatre also hosted the 2007 and 2008 ceremonies, before it was moved again in 2009 to the Orpheum Theatre across town. In 2010 and 2011, the Daytime Emmys were instead held in Las Vegas. From 2012 onward, the Daytime Emmys have been held at various venues in Los Angeles, never to return again to New York (most likely as a reflection of the current state of American daytime dramas, where all New York-produced network soap operas have since been cancelled, and the ones left on the air are being recorded in Los Angeles).


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: Due to the relatively small talent pool in daytime television, it has become common for the same people to be nominated repeatedly. The most infamous of these is "All My Children" star Susan Lucci, whose name became synonymous with being nominated for an award and never winning, after having been nominated 18 times without receiving an award before finally winning a Daytime Emmy for Best Actress in 1999.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: In 2003, in response to heavy criticism of bloc voting in favor of shows with the largest casts, an additional voting round was added to all the drama acting categories. Known as the "pre-nominations", one or two actors from each show is selected to then move on and be considered for the primary nominations for the awards.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: With the rise of cable television in the 1980s, cable programs first became eligible for the Daytime Emmys in 1989. In 2013, in response to "All My Children" being moved from broadcast to streaming television, NATAS began accepting nominations to web-only series. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) also began accepting original online-only streaming television programs in 2013.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: In October 2019, as part of several initiatives regarding gender identity, the NATAS decided to replace both the younger actor and actress in a drama categories with a single gender-neutral one for 2020.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: The 47th Daytime Emmy Awards were postponed to June 26, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the traditional in-person ceremony being replaced by a television special featuring remote appearances, and the announcement of winners in leading categories.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: In December 2021, the ATAS and NATAS announced major realignments to the Emmy Awards, accounting for the growth of streaming services by aligning their categories and the ceremonies' scopes around factors such as the themes and frequency of such programming, rather than dayparts:


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: Among the Daytime Emmy rules, a show must originally air on American television during the eligibility period between January 1 and December 31. Historically, in order to be considered a "national daytime" show, the program was required to air between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m., and to at least 50 percent of the country. Shows in syndication, whose air times vary between media markets, could either be entered in the Daytime or Primetime Emmys (provided they still reach the 50 percent national reach), but not in both. Game shows that reached the 50 percent threshold could be entered into the Daytime Emmys if they normally aired before 8 p.m.; otherwise, they were only eligible for the Primetime Emmys. Web television shows, must be available for downloading or streaming to more than 50 percent of the country, and like shows in syndication they can only enter in one of the national Emmy competitions. A show that enters into the Daytime Emmys cannot also be entered into the Primetime Emmy Awards or any other national Emmy competition.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: As of 2021, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences which runs the Daytime Emmys and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences which runs the Primetime Emmys have begun to realign the awards categories so that eligibility will be determined based on content genre, without reference to the time of day that a program airs.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: Entries must be submitted by late December. Most award categories also require entries to include DVDs or tape masters of the show. For example, most series categories require the submitted DVD to include any one or two episodes that originally aired during the eligibility period.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: Voting is done by peer judging panels. Any active Academy member, who has national credits for at least two years and within the last five years, is eligible to be a judge. Depending on the category, voting is done using either a ratings score criteria or a preferential scoring system.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: The show originally aired during the daytime hours (except for the 1983 and 1984 awards, which weren't televised) but moved to primetime in 1991. For many years, the show was produced by one of its own Lifetime Achievement honorees, Dick Clark. Each show from 2006 to 2008 was produced by White Cherry Entertainment.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: NBC often aired special primetime episodes of its soaps (such as "") as a lead-in to the ceremony. In 2002, 2005, and 2007, CBS aired special primetime editions of "The Price Is Right" as a lead-in (the first of which tying into its then-host Bob Barker being host of the ceremony, and the last being a primetime encore of his final episode as host, which aired earlier in the day).


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: In August 2009, The CW broadcast the Daytime Emmys for the first time, due to the other networks declining to carry it (at the time the network did have one daytime program, "Judge Jeanine Pirro"). The airing delivered the ceremony's lowest ratings ever (0.6/2 in 18–49, 2.72m), but it did outperform The CW's weak averages on the night that summer. The second time around, Associated Television International brought the 37th Daytime Emmy Awards to CBS, as well as the 38th, the following year. On May 3, 2012, it was announced and confirmed that HLN would air the 39th ceremony on June 23, 2012. In that ceremony, an additional non-Emmy award was awarded by the program's social media partner, AOL, for Best Viral Video Series. With 912,000 viewers (not counting four repeat broadcasts which brought the total to 2 million), the broadcast was "the most watched regularly scheduled, non-news telecast" ever on HLN, but by far the least-watched Daytime Emmy ceremony ever.


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: For the first time in the event's four-decade history, the 2014 Daytime Emmy ceremony was not broadcast on TV and instead aired only online, but the Daytime Awards telecast eventually returned to television the following year thanks to a two-year deal with basic cable channel Pop. However, for 2016, the Academy announced that ceremony would not be televised for the second time, citing the "current climate for awards shows".


title: Daytime Emmy Awards

text: In 2020, the remotely-produced "virtual" ceremony for the 47th Daytime Emmy Awards aired on CBS, marking its return to both broadcast TV and CBS for the first time since 2011. On April 1, 2021, the NATAS subsequently announced a two-year deal with CBS, covering the 48th and 49th Daytime Emmy Awards.


title: Fort William, India

text: Fort William is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta (Kolkata). It was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, the major distributary of the River Ganges. One of Kolkata's most enduring Raj-era edifices, it extends over an area of 70.9 hectares.


title: Fort William, India

text: The fort was named after King William III. In front of the Fort is the Maidan, the largest park in the country. An internal guard room became the Black Hole of Calcutta. Today it is the Headquarters of Eastern Command of the Indian Army.


title: Fort William, India

text: There are two Fort Williams. The original fort was built in the year 1696 by the British East India Company under the orders of Sir John Goldsborough which took a decade to complete. The permission was granted by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Sir Charles Eyre started construction near the bank of the Hooghly River with the South-East Bastion and the adjacent walls. It was named after King William III in 1700. John Beard, Eyre's successor, added the North-East Bastion in 1701, and in 1702 started the construction of the Government House (Factory, see Factory (trading post)) at the centre of the fort. Construction ended in 1706. The original building had two stories and projecting wings. In 1756, the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, attacked the Fort, temporarily conquered the city, and changed its name to Alinagar. This led the British to build a new fort in the Maidan. Robert Clive started rebuilding the fort in 1758, after the Battle of Plassey (1757); construction was completed in 1781 at a cost of approximately two million pounds. The area around the Fort was cleared, and the Maidan became "the Lungs of Kolkata". It stretches for around 3 km in the north–south direction and is around 1 km wide. The headquarters of the Indian Ordnance Factories was established in 1775 at Fort William.


title: Fort William, India

text: Today, Fort William is the property of Indian Army. The headquarters of Eastern Command is based there, with provisions for accommodating 10,000 army personnel. The Army guards it heavily, and civilian entry is restricted.


title: Fort William, India

text: Much of Fort William is unchanged, but St Peter's Church, which used to serve as a chaplaincy centre for the British citizens of Kolkata, is now a library for the troops of HQ Eastern Command.


title: Fort William, India

text: A war memorial has been created at the entrance of the fort, and the fort also houses a museum which displays artifacts from the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, especially those related to the battles in the Eastern sector and the Bangladesh Liberation War.


title: Fort William, India

text: In 1730, Ralph Farrwinter and other members of the East India Company opened the first Indian Masonic lodge, a short time after the creation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1713.


title: Fort William, India

text: The Fort is built of brick and mortar in the shape of an irregular octagon with an area of . Five of its sides face landward, and three towards the Hooghly River. The design is that of a star fort, suited to defence against cannon firing solid shot, and dates from before the advent of explosive shells. A dry moat deep and broad surrounds the fort. The moat can be flooded but is designed as an area in which to use enfilade (or flanking) fire against any attackers reaching the walls. There are six gates: Chowringhee, Plassey, Calcutta, Water Gate, St Georges and the Treasury Gate. There are similar forts at places like Thalassery in Kerala.


title: Military history of Australia during World War II

text: Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939, following the government's acceptance of the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Nazi Germany. Australia later entered into a state of war with other members of the Axis powers, including the Kingdom of Italy on 11 June 1940, and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South West Pacific theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded. Many more suffered from tropical disease, hunger, and harsh conditions in captivity; of the 21,467 Australian prisoners taken by the Japanese, only 14,000 survived.


text: Australian Army units were gradually withdrawn from the Mediterranean and Europe following the outbreak of war with Japan. However, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy units and personnel continued to take part in the war against Germany and Italy. From 1942 until early 1944, Australian forces played a key role in the Pacific War, making up the majority of Allied strength throughout much of the fighting in the South West Pacific theatre. While the military was largely relegated to subsidiary fronts from mid-1944, it continued offensive operations against the Japanese until the war ended.


text: World War II contributed to major changes in the nation's economy, military and foreign policy. The war accelerated the process of industrialisation, led to the development of a larger peacetime military and began the process with which Australia shifted the focus of its foreign policy from Britain to the United States. The final effects of the war also contributed to the development of a more diverse and cosmopolitan Australian society.


text: Between World War I and World War II Australia suffered greatly from the Great Depression which started in 1929. This limited Australian defence expenditure and led to a decline in the size and effectiveness of the armed forces during the 1930s. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster granted the Australian government independence in foreign affairs and defence. Nevertheless, from the mid-1930s, Australian governments generally followed British policy towards Nazi Germany, supporting first the appeasement of Hitler and the British guarantee of Polish independence.


text: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies asked the British government to notify Germany that Australia was an associate of the United Kingdom. On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war when its ultimatum for Germany to withdraw from Poland expired. Because the Statute of Westminster had not yet been ratified by the Australian parliament, any declaration of war by the UK applied to Australia by default. After the British informed Menzies of the declaration of war, the Governor-General of Australia issued a proclamation of the existence of war in Australia. Menzies' support for the war was based on the notion of an imperial defence system, upon which he believed Australia relied and which would be destroyed if the UK was defeated. This position was generally accepted by the Australian public, although there was little enthusiasm for war.


text: At the time war broke out in Europe, the Australian armed forces were less prepared than at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the best-prepared of the three services, was small and equipped with only two heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, two sloops, five obsolete destroyers and a number of small and auxiliary warships. The Australian Army comprised a small permanent cadre of 3,000 men and 80,000 part-time militiamen who had volunteered for training with the Citizen Military Forces (CMF). The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the weakest of the services, had 246 aircraft, few of them modern. While the Commonwealth Government began a large military expansion and transferred some RAAF aircrew and units to British control upon the outbreak of war, it was unwilling to immediately dispatch an expeditionary force overseas due to the threat posed by Japanese intervention.


text: The first Australian shot of the war took place several hours after the declaration of war when a gun at Fort Queenscliff fired across the bows of an Australian ship that failed to identify itself as it attempted to leave Melbourne without required clearances. On 10 October 1939, a Short Sunderland of No. 10 Squadron, based in England for re-equipment, became the first Australian and the first Commonwealth air-force unit to go into action when it undertook a mission to Tunisia.


text: On 15 September 1939 Menzies announced the formation of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This expeditionary force initially consisted of 20,000 men organised into an infantry division (the 6th Division) and auxiliary units. The AIF was institutionally separate from the CMF, which was legally restricted to service in Australia and its external territories, and was formed by raising new units rather than transferring CMF units. On 15 November, Menzies announced the reintroduction of conscription for home-defence service, effective 1 January 1940. Recruitment for the AIF was initially slow, but one in six men of military age had enlisted by March 1940, and a huge surge of volunteers came forward after the fall of France in June 1940. Men volunteered for the AIF for a range of reasons, with the most common being a sense of duty to defend Australia and the British Empire. In early 1940, each of the services introduced regulations which prohibited the enlistment of people not "substantially of European origin"; while these regulations were strictly enforced by the RAN and Army, the RAAF continued to accept small numbers of non-European Australians.


text: The AIF's major units were raised between 1939 and 1941. The 6th Division formed during October and November 1939, and embarked for the Middle East in early 1940 to complete its training and to receive modern equipment after the British Government assured the Australian Government that Japan did not pose an immediate threat. The division was intended to join the British Expeditionary Force in France when its preparations were complete, but this did not eventuate as Axis forces conquered France before the division was ready. A further three AIF infantry divisions (the 7th Division, 8th Division and 9th Division) were raised in the first half of 1940, as well as a corps headquarters (I Corps) and numerous support and service units. All of these divisions and the majority of the support units deployed overseas during 1940 and 1941. An AIF armoured division (the 1st Armoured Division) was also raised in early 1941 but never left Australia.


text: While the Government initially planned to deploy the entire RAAF overseas, it later decided to focus the force's resources on training aircrew to facilitate a massive expansion of Commonwealth air-power. In late 1939, Australia and the other Dominions established the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) to train large numbers of men for service in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and in other Commonwealth air units. Almost 28,000 Australians eventually trained through EATS in schools in Australia, Canada and Rhodesia. While many of these men were posted to Australian Article XV squadrons, the majority served with British and other Dominion squadrons. Moreover, these nominally "Australian" squadrons did not come under RAAF control and Australians often made up a minority of their airmen. As the Australian Government had no effective control over the deployment of airmen trained through EATS, most Australian historians regard the scheme as having hindered the development of Australia's defence capability. Nevertheless, RAAF airmen trained through EATS represented about nine percent of all aircrew who fought for the RAF in the European and Mediterranean theatres and made an important contribution to Allied operations.


text: During the first years of World War II, Australia's military strategy was closely aligned with that of the United Kingdom. In line with this, most Australian military units deployed overseas in 1940 and 1941 were sent to the Mediterranean and Middle East where they formed a key part of the Commonwealth forces in the area. The three AIF infantry divisions sent to the Middle East saw extensive action, as did the RAAF squadrons and warships in this theatre.