The 2020 presidential election may be a done deal, but thanks to the myriad allegations of fraud – not to mention the statistical improbability of a Biden win – there will always be questions left unanswered unless someone does something about it.
“Unfortunately, since there was never a real investigation into the many affidavits and incident reports alleging fraudulent activity at the polls,” Liberty Nation’s Jeff Charles wrote, “there will always be a cloud of ambiguity over the 2020 presidential election, with half of the country believing that the race was not free and fair.”
That’s where Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) comes in. He’s done sitting by while the fraud goes ignored – and he’s not alone.
Who’s on the Crew?
So who’s in the Cruz Crew? The gang of 11 Republican senators includes Cruz, of course, as well as Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, Oklahoma’s James Lankford, Montana’s Steve Daines, Louisiana’s John Kennedy, Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, Indiana’s Mike Braun, Wyoming’s Cynthia Lummis, Kansas’ Roger Marshall, and Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville.
Tuberville was the first senator to come out in support of Rep. Mo Brooks' (R-AL) initial challenge. However, rather than lead his own effort in the Senate, he signed on with Cruz. And this is separate from the objections raised by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who did not sign on to Cruz’s letter.
What Will They Do?
“On January 6, it is incumbent on Congress to vote on whether to certify the 2020 election results,” Cruz’s letter explains. “That vote is the lone constitutional power remaining to consider and force resolution of the multiple allegations of serious voter fraud.” He and his compatriots intend to reject the electors from disputed states as not “regularly given” and “lawfully certified” until after an emergency ten-day audit is completed by a commission made up of a mix of senators, members of the House, and Supreme Court justices – just as was done in 1877 after the Hayes v. Tilden election controversy.
Here’s an example of how this would go procedurally: The electoral votes will be read state-by-state in alphabetical order. When the Arizona count is read off, a written objection signed by at least one representative and one senator will be delivered to Vice President Mike Pence. At this point, the count will stop, Congress will separate and begin a two-hour discussion window followed immediately by a vote. If at least two-thirds of both bodies vote and a simple majority agree to discard the votes, they will be discarded. Otherwise, they will be counted. Immediately after that decision, the next state will be read.
Why Is This Due?
This mechanism for challenging the electoral vote exists thanks to the Electoral Count Act of 1877, which was passed to give Congress the ability to settle such disputes. However, from the very first joint session of Congress to certify the work of the Electoral College, this whole process most often has been merely ceremonial. Democrats and the left-wing media, of course, make this point and build upon it the argument that Republicans are being petty and refusing to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.
But the Dems seem to be forgetting an important point: They’ve been doing the exact same thing for years now. As Liberty Nation’s Graham J. Noble explained:
“It would not be the first time that members of Congress have raised objections to what is generally considered a formality, the counting of the Electoral College votes for president of the United States. In fact, Democrats have almost made something of a habit of it. The last time such a thing happened was in 2017 when Democrats objected to the certification of votes for one Donald J. Trump. At that time, their concern was the integrity of the election.”
Democrats in the House objected to the electoral counts during the joint sessions in 1969, 2001, 2005, and 2017, with at least one senator joining in for the 1969 and 2005 objections, forcing votes on the issue. The last Republican president to not have his certification challenged at this point was George H.W. Bush 32 years ago.
In 2005, Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) filed the complaint over Ohio’s electoral count, despite George W. Bush carrying the state by 118,000 votes. "How can we possibly tell millions of Americans who registered to vote, who came to the polls in record numbers, particularly our young people ... to simply get over it and move on?" Tubbs Jones said at the time.
So why are some Republicans raising the challenge? They claim the same reasons the Democrats did: Fraud can’t be allowed to go on uncontested. But, of course, what is good for the goose is never good for the gander according to the left, so it should come as no surprise Democrats and the media are opposed to a straightforward audit.
As for the two separate movements within the Senate, why not combine efforts? It could well be because Cruz and Hawley are eyeing potential 2024 presidential runs and want to be able to take independent credit for leading the charge now – though that’s another topic for another day. It will be interesting, however, to see if both senators make a play for the brass ring in four years.
What Shall Ensue?
As we explained when this challenge was first raised, objectors will have to successfully convince majorities in both houses of Congress to drop 37 electoral votes from Biden’s total – a feat that requires overturning the counts of at least three of the seven swing states likely to be challenged.
Can it be done? Yes, but only in the sense that anything is possible. Even if every Republican agreed to go along, that would still leave half a dozen House Democrats to be convinced – at least three distinct times. It’ll never happen – but just as when the Democrats objected to every Republican president’s certification since Bush the elder, that’s not the point.
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Read more from James Fite.
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