Ellis described the steps she believed could be taken lawfully:

Pence should not open any of the votes from the six states, and instead direct a question to the legislatures asking them to confirm which of the two slates of electors have in fact been chosen in the manner the legislature has provided for under Article II, Section 1.2 of the U.S. Constitution.

The Vice President should open all other votes from states where electors have been certified and not contested, and count accordingly.

The question would then require a response from the legislatures, which would then need to meet in an emergency electoral session.

Pence should require a timely response from each state legislature and set a deadline of Jan. 17. If any state legislature fails to provide a timely response, no electoral votes can be opened and counted from that state.

The Constitution provides that if no candidate for President receives a majority of electoral votes, the Congress shall vote by state delegation. This would provide two and one-half days for Congress to meet and vote by delegation prior to January 20 at noon for inauguration.

Pence would not be exercising discretion nor establishing new precedent, simply asking for clarification from the constitutionally appointed authority in each of the six states.