Obama To Be Officially Declared By Congress As President-Elect Thursday

January 8, 2009 10:07 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Lawmakers from the two chambers of Congress will meet on Thursday to count votes cast by the Electoral College last month and declare President-elect Barack Obama's election victory official.

In a joint session set for 1:00 pm ET, lawmakers will open and count electoral votes cast on Dec. 15. Obama should get 365 votes while Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) should get 173. Only 270 votes were needed to win the election.

Vice President Dick Cheney, being the President of the Senate under the Constitution, will announce the results.

Congress is required by federal law to count the votes on Jan. 6, but lawmakers moved the joint session for this year two days later because swearing-in ceremonies were held on that date.

Obama will be sworn-in as the 44th U.S. president on Jan. 20 at the west front of the Capitol. His inaugural will also commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth by having as its theme words from the Gettysburg address, "A New Birth of Freedom."