Federal Court of Appeal dismisses election case against Pence

A federal appeals court on Saturday evening dismissed a congressman’s attempt to overturn the November presidential election results.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth District rejected an appeal by U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who sought to allow Vice President Mike Pence to hand the election over to Trump.

The panel approved a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Friday, which said Gohmert and a group of 11 Trump-friendly Arizona voters were prohibited from changing Pence’s role . Gohmert sued Pence in the effort to transform his work from the electoral counter-vote into a pivotal role in the election.

Under the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, the Vice President presides over the Senate electoral vote count, acting as a human count. The lawsuit sought to free him for refusing to accept enough votes from Joe Biden supporters to ultimately give Trump the White House again.

Pence “may exercise the exclusive authority and sole discretion to determine which electoral votes to count for a given state,” said the initial Dec. 27 lawsuit against the vice president.

The Trump administration’s Justice Department opposed the lawsuit in court, arguing that Pence was not the wrong target.

Gohmert’s office did not immediately respond to a request for a response to the decision. His options include an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, which has so far bypassed electoral challenges of 2020, and a request for review by the fifth district court.

The Electoral College confirmed Biden’s 306-232 victory this month, and nearly every legal effort by Trump’s campaign and his supporters, including more than 50 lawsuits, have failed.

Trump continued to make allegations, without proof, of widespread voter fraud in elections.

The Associated Press contributed.