3 U.S.C. § 5 — Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors

(a) In General. Each state's executive must issue a "certificate of ascertainment" — an official document naming the state's appointed electors — no later than 6 days before the electors meet. The executive follows the state's own election laws, as long as those laws were passed before election day. The certificate must list the electors chosen and show the vote count (or other method used) that determined who was appointed for each candidate. It must carry the state's official seal. And it must include at least one security feature — something the state picks — so people can verify it's authentic. (b) Transmission. The state's executive has two jobs here. First, right after issuing the certificate, the executive must send it to the Archivist of the United States, using the fastest method available. Second, by the day the electors are required to meet (set in section 7), the executive must send six duplicate originals of the same certificate to the state's own electors. (c) Treatment of Certificate as Conclusive. For purposes of section 15 (the law governing how Congress counts electoral votes), this certificate normally settles the question of who the state's electors are — Congress must treat it as final. There's an exception: if a state or federal court orders a certificate to be issued or revised before the electors meet, that court-ordered certificate replaces and overrides any earlier certificate. Also, whenever federal courts decide a constitutional or federal-law question about a certificate, that court ruling is likewise treated as final by Congress. (d) Venue and Expedited Procedure. If a candidate for President or Vice President who was harmed by how a certificate was issued or sent brings a lawsuit under the Constitution or federal law, special rules apply. The case must be filed in the federal district court located in the state's capital. It must be heard by a panel of three judges — two from the circuit court of appeals and one from the district court — and a particular rule that normally lets a single judge decide (28 U.S.C. § 2284(b)(2)) does not apply here. The court must move the case ahead of other business and decide it as fast as possible. If the case is appealed, the Supreme Court can review the panel's final decision directly, on an expedited basis, aiming to finish before the day before the electors meet. This subsection only sets up where such a lawsuit is filed and how fast it moves — it doesn't create any new right to sue, and it doesn't erase or replace any lawsuit that already existed under other law.