Posted on 06/16/2024 2:12:11 PM PDT by Macho MAGA Man
The only person that needs proof is the President of the Senate, and it can take whatever form he finds convincing.
Pence was the equivalent of an emcee, serving in a ministerial role. He was to announce the vote result as reported to him by the tellers.
Thomas Jefferson assumed rather broad powers for himself in 1800. The 12th Amendment was proposed by Congress in 1803 and ratified in 1804 to eliminate the possibility of a recurrence. After shenanigans in 1876, Federal law was passed to further curtail the function of the President of the Senate at a joint session of Congress for a counting of the Electoral College vote. The Presiding Officer shall open all the envelopes for "all the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of the electoral votes." Those will be passed to the tellers who will read and tally the votes, and report the tally to the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer shall announce the result as reported to him by the tellers.
The role of the President of the Senate is just ministerial. He calls for objections as a matter of course on each paper or certificate. This was done. One or two objections were made, but in no case did the objector obtain the required second signature, so the objection was not received and there was no adjournment. The President of the Senate cannot make an objection, nor does he have any vote upon an objection.
3 U.S.C. §15:
Upon such reading of any such certificate or paper, the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received. When all objections so made to any vote or paper from a State shall have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate for its decision; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, in like manner, submit such objections to the House of Representatives for its decision;
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