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Several senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, say they will reject the electoral college’s results unless a commission is appointed to conduct a 10-day audit of the results. Congress counts the electoral college votes on January 6.
“We intend to vote on January 6 to reject voters from contested states as not being ‘properly donated’ and ‘legally certified’ (the legal requirement), unless and until such 10-day emergency audit be completed, ” the group said in a statement on Saturday.
Cruz’s group works separately from the Republican Senator Josh hawley in its effort to challenge the Electoral College’s results when Congress meets on Wednesday. Dozens of House Republicans are also expected to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, even though the Electoral College upheld its 306 electoral votes in December.
These last-minute challenges are not going to change the outcome of the election, and Mr Biden is expected to be inaugurated on January 20. Biden Transition Team spokesman Michael Gwin called the Republicans’ efforts a “coup de grace.”
“This stunt will not change the fact that President-elect Biden will be sworn in on January 20, and these baseless claims have already been considered and rejected by Trump’s own attorney general, dozens of courts and election officials on both sides.” , Gwin said.
The list of Republican lawmakers challenging the results includes some of the party’s biggest rising stars, and these efforts are an attempt to win the favor of President Trump and his grassroots.
Cruz works with Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn and Mike Braun, and elected Senators Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Bill Hagerty and Tommy Tuberville. Only one of those senators, Johnson of Wisconsin, represents a state won by Mr Biden.
In their statement, the senators claim to be trying to restore confidence in the democratic process, due to allegations of electoral fraud. Mr. Trump’s legal team has been repeatedly unable to provide evidence of electoral fraud in several lawsuits challenging election results.
The statement cites the election of 1876, when Congress appointed an election commission in early 1877 to review and resolve disputed election reports.
“Congress should immediately appoint an electoral commission, with full investigative and investigative powers, to conduct a 10-day emergency audit of election results in the disputed states.” Once completed, each state would assess the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session audit to certify a change in their vote, if necessary, ”the statement said.
the joint session of Congress is required by law to ratify the presidential results, but also allows “members to oppose any state returns as and when they are announced,” according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Hawley was previously the only Republican senator to pledge to challenge electoral votes in a last effort to give Mr. Trump a second term after previous efforts to challenge the election results failed, including the loss of several campaign lawsuits.
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of electoral fraud and take steps to ensure the integrity of our election. But so far Congress has failed to act,” Hawley said last week .
But even some Republicans see Hawley’s and others’ effort as detrimental to democratic institutions and accused them of making a cynical ploy to gain the support of Mr Trump’s voters.
Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania – one of the states in which Mr. Trump’s supporters may seek to challenge the election results – strongly denounced the actions of Hawley, Cruz and others in a statement on Saturday.
“A fundamental and defining characteristic of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders. The efforts of Senators Hawley, Cruz and others to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in dynamic states like Pennsylvania directly infringe this right. Said Toomey. “I voted for President Trump and approved him for re-election. But on Wednesday I intend to vigorously defend our form of government by opposing this effort to deprive millions of voters in my state and others. “
In a scathing Tweeter Last week, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger said Hawley’s “internal monologue” when he released his statement was: “I want to be president so I decided to try and get a tweet from POTUS saying I’m awesome even though I know it’s not going anywhere but hey … I’ll blame someone else when it fails. “
Republican Senator Ben Sasse posted a lengthy Facebook post on Wednesday saying anyone who sought to challenge the election results was “playing with fire.”
“Let’s be clear what’s going on here: we have a group of ambitious politicians who believe there is a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without causing real long-term damage. But they are wrong – and this problem is more important. than anyone’s personal ambitions. Adults do not point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate autonomy, “Sasse said.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the certification of the upcoming electoral vote “the most consistent vote” in a call with Senators this week, according to Senator Mitt Romney, who was on the call. Romney told reporters on Friday that he interpreted McConnell’s comments to mean the vote was a “referendum on our democracy.”
“Look, I lost in 2012, I know what it’s like to lose,” said Romney, who ran for president in 2012. “And there were people who said he There were irregularities. I have people today who say “hey you know what you I really won” – but I didn’t, I just lost. Of course, there have always been irregularities, but spreading this kind of rumor that our electoral system is not working is dangerous for democracy at home and abroad.
In their statement, the senators acknowledged that they “fully expect most if not all Democrats, and perhaps more than a few Republicans, to vote otherwise” and accept the election results.
“A fair and credible audit – conducted swiftly and completed well before January 20 – would dramatically improve Americans’ confidence in our electoral process and greatly enhance the legitimacy of who will become our next president. We owe it to the people,” the statement said. . . “We are not acting to thwart the democratic process, but rather to protect it. And each of us should act together to ensure that elections are held legally under the Constitution and do all we can to restore faith in our democracy. “
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