On Jan. 6, a joint session of Congress will convene to ratify the electoral votes and declare the next President of the United States. Several U.S. representatives and senators are planning to object to the electoral votes. Vice President Mike Pence, who will preside over the joint session as president of the senate, will receive such a challenge to electoral college votes with open arms.
The Vice President shares “the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities… [He] welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people,” Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short said in a statement. This comes after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to give Pence the power to overturn the presidential election results.
Numerous senators have announced their plans to object to the electoral votes on Jan. 6. Republican senator Ted Cruz has rallied with 11 other senators for this purpose. The group indicated that the 2020 election saw “unprecedented allegations of voter fraud.” They demanded that Congress appoint an electoral commission to do an emergency audit to investigate the allegations. They plan on objecting to the votes until an audit has been completed.
Additionally, 51 U.S. Representatives announced their intention to raise an objection. This includes Republicans Tracey Mann, Ron Estes, and Jacob LaTurner. LaTurner said that several states are “facing serious allegations of voter fraud and violations of their own state law… This action is not taken lightly and comes after extensive study and research. Kansans deserve to know that all legal, and only legal, votes were counted. We hope our actions begin to restore the confidence of tens of millions of our fellow Americans that feel their sacred right to vote is under attack.”
At the joint session, objections must be raised in writing by at least one member each from the House and Senate. Each house will then withdraw to its chambers to debate on the objection for two hours. The House and Senate will then vote on whether to accept or reject the challenge. If both chambers support the objection, the electoral votes certified by the state will be nullified.
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This is Trump’s best chance to flip the election results. If both Trump and Biden fail to receive 270 electoral votes, a contingent election will be conducted. The House of Representatives will determine who becomes the next president while the Senate will determine the vice president.
On Sunday, both the Senate and House of Representatives passed rules that detail the counting process of the Electoral College votes. Pence will open all certificates and papers that purport to be certificates of electoral votes. These certificates shall be opened in an alphabetical sequence, beginning with the state of Alabama. Then, any objections will be raised. House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi has dismissed Trump’s chances of overturning the results and claimed that Biden will be “declared as the next president” on Jan. 6.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who will raise an objection on that day, said that they are not trying to thwart the democratic process, but aim to protect it. The senator wants a bipartisan commission to organize all allegations of voter fraud and acknowledge the problematic areas that have not yet been explained.
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