In Past 20 Years, Democrats Objected 3 Times to Electoral College Certifications

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation

Since the passage of the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which provides a legal avenue for members of Congress to challenge electoral votes under the Constitution, Democratic lawmakers have objected to election outcomes on several occasions, including in 2001 and 2005, and as recently as 2017. 

In 2001, House Democrats challenged the certification of electoral votes for then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a Republican, but the objection failed because no senator agreed to sign the written objection. 

“The objection is in writing, and I do not care that it is not signed by a member of the Senate,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said during the 2001 joint session of Congress. 

“The chair will advise that the rules do care,” then-Vice President Al Gore, ceremonially presiding over the session, told Waters. Gore was overseeing the very session that would confirm his loss to Bush. 

A similar situation occurred in 2017, when then-Vice President Joe Biden oversaw certification of the electoral votes that handed the presidency to Donald Trump. House Democrats challenged the electoral slate, but to no avail, because they lacked support in the Senate.

[Geee]

3 Keys to Understanding Senators’ Proposal to Audit Presidential Election

 

1. Could an Electoral Commission Overturn the Results?

Whether such a commission would turn the tide in favor of Trump is a big question that isn’t answered by the Republicans asking for the panel. 

The joint statement from the 11 GOP senators says:“Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states.”

In the long-shot chance that Congress votes to establish the commission, the earliest it could wrap up a 10-day audit would be just four days before the Jan. 20 inauguration. 

Under their proposal, the findings of the commission would go back to the states, the senators said:

Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed. Accordingly, we intend to vote on January 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘lawfully certified’ (the statutory requisite), unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed.

The Trump legal team and Trump allies have lost several court cases, but many of those losses were on procedural grounds or about standing.