Posted on 12/09/2020 11:37:19 AM PST by 11th_VA
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Wednesday did not rule out challenging the results of the Electoral College next month when Congress formally certifies the vote.
Johnson, who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced the same day that he would hold a hearing next week on the "irregularities" of the 2020 election.
When asked if he plans to challenge the election results, Johnson told reporters: "I would say it depends on what we found out. I need more information. The American people need more information. I'm not ready to just close and slam the book on this thing and go 'OK, let's walk away from it.'"
Johnson's remarks come as Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has said he will object when Congress convenes next month to certify the Electoral College vote.
In order to get a vote on his objection, Brooks would need a senator to object as well. Brooks disclosed on Wednesday that he has spoken with 10 senators about his effort and was "cautiously optimistic" that at least one would join him.
Johnson said he had not discussed the matter with President Trump, who gave Brooks a shout-out on Twitter last week...
Lawmakers have only been able to force a debate and a vote on an objection twice since 1887, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The first time was in 1969, regarding an elector from North Carolina who switched their vote. The second time was in 2005 over Ohio's electoral votes. In both instances, the objections were rejected and Congress counted the electoral votes as cast...
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Good for Sen. Johnson.
We should have more Senators and Congressmen speaking up.
Sad truth is the GOP wants Trump gone as much as the Democrats do.
He , and we, are in the way of their New World Order.
Have to squash that pesky citizen sovereignty thing.
This would be funnier than hell if enough object and send it to the House to choose, Trump Wins!!! What A Riot!
To what end? The house will never vote to contest the election. This just seems like posturing for public consumption.
This is what I had hoped to have happened to Obama in 2009, that someone would stand up and contest his eligibility. Of course it didn’t happen because fear of the race card being played on them.
BOLD STRATEGY, COTTON JOHNSON.
"January 6, 2021: Joint Session of Congress Meets to Count Electoral Votes and Declare Election ResultsOn January 6, or another date setby law, the Senate and House of Representatives assemble at 1:00 p.m. in a joint session at the Capitol, in the House chamber, to count the electoral votes and declare the results (3 U.S.C. §15). The Vice President presides as President of the Senate. The Vice President opens the certificates and presents them to four tellers, two from each chamber. The tellers read and make a list of the returns. When the votes have been ascertained and counted, the tellers transmit them to the Vice President. If one of the tickets has received a majority of 270 or more electoral votes, the Vice President announces the results, which “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons, if any, elected President and Vice President.”
Joint Session Challenges to Electoral Vote Returns
"While the tellers announce the results, Members may object to the returns from any individual state as they are announced. Objections to individual state returns must be made in writing by at least one Member each of the Senate and House of Representatives. If an objection meets these requirements, the joint session recesses and the two houses separate and debate the question in their respective chambers fora maximum of two hours. The two houses then vote separately to accept or reject the objection. They then reassemble in joint session, and announce the results of their respective votes. An objection to a state’s electoral vote must be approved by both houses in order for any contested votes to be excluded. For additional information, see CRS Report RL32717, Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress, coordinated by Elizabeth Rybicki and L. Paige Whitaker"
Talk is cheap.
Not going to happen. The House would vote any challenge down and I expect the Senate will as well. All it would take is two senators to vote no, and Romney is already one of them.
Remember on January 6th the Senate will consist of only 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats/Independents. Purdue and Loeffler’s terms end on January 2nd and the runoff election won’t be certified in time for them to be sworn in on January 6th. With Romney already talking against challenges then all it would take is Collins or Murkowski or some other Senator to defeat any challenge.
I tend to agree wit you on this, but I still can’t let go of Spook Haspel and AG Barr having a “Special” meeting in the Turtles Office the day after the election, and the Spook has NOT been seen or heard from since that meeting. Makes me curious?
The House can't pre-empt. But you're right about the House able to object in finality (after comment period).
Disposing of ObjectionsSo yeah it's merely kabuki theater without controlling the House, but it'll put the mark of Cain on an illegitimate puppet, unless Alito shocks the world in Texas."The joint session does not act on any objections that are made. Instead, the joint session is suspended while each house meets separately to debate the objection and vote whether, based on the objection, to count the vote or votes in question. Both houses must vote separately to agree to the objection. Otherwise, the objection fails and the vote or votes are counted. (3 U.S.C. §15, provides that “the two Houses concurrently may reject the vote or votes.... ”)"
I disagree on that - it will only take two Republicans to vote against the objection and Romney is already on record opposing them. But since the House will never approve them then it doesn't really matter.
“Remember on January 6th the Senate will consist of only 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats/Independents. Purdue and Loeffler’s terms end on January 2nd and the runoff election won’t be certified in time for them to be sworn in on January 6th. With Romney already talking against challenges then all it would take is Collins or Murkowski or some other Senator to defeat any challenge.”
Also, the House would also have to vote in favor and that isn’t going to happen.
Agreed.
Bttt.
5.56mm
It’s beltway Kabuki. Once the electoral college confirms the steal on the 14th the GOP will suddenly find reason to be critical of the stolen election. It’s all Potemkin opposition, of course.
The more the merrier. The more who join suits already filed, or who initiate suits of their own, the harder it will be to ignore, dismiss or disregard them.
I agree, though it pains me to do so. From what I can tell to this point, a successful challenge requires both the House and Senate to agree, and there is no way that the House will ever go agree. Republicans aren't close enough to get defectors and the last minute shenanigans in NY-22 tell you that the RATS are making sure they don't in every way possible.
There does appear to be an alternate route that doesn't require the House and Senate to agree, and that is where a state's votes are not counted because they weren't cast in accordance with the state's laws. However, the language in the statute—https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/15— is torturous on a good day and I could easily be misreading it.
3 U.S. Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in CongressCongress shall be in session on the sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the electors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the hour of 1 o’clock in the afternoon on that day, and the President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer. Two tellers shall be previously appointed on the part of the Senate and two on the part of the House of Representatives, to whom shall be handed, as they are opened by the President of the Senate, all the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of the electoral votes, which certificates and papers shall be opened, presented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the letter A; and said tellers, having then read the same in the presence and hearing of the two Houses, shall make a list of the votes as they shall appear from the said certificates; and the votes having been ascertained and counted according to the rules in this subchapter provided, the result of the same shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of the vote, which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons, if any, elected President and Vice President of the United States, and, together with a list of the votes, be entered on the Journals of the two Houses. 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; and no electoral vote or votes from any State which shall have been regularly given by electors whose appointment has been lawfully certified to according to section 6 of this title from which but one return has been received shall be rejected, but the two Houses concurrently may reject the vote or votes when they agree that such vote or votes have not been so regularly given by electors whose appointment has been so certified. If more than one return or paper purporting to be a return from a State shall have been received by the President of the Senate, those votes, and those only, shall be counted which shall have been regularly given by the electors who are shown by the determination mentioned in section 5 of this title to have been appointed, if the determination in said section provided for shall have been made, or by such successors or substitutes, in case of a vacancy in the board of electors so ascertained, as have been appointed to fill such vacancy in the mode provided by the laws of the State; but in case there shall arise the question which of two or more of such State authorities determining what electors have been appointed, as mentioned in section 5 of this title, is the lawful tribunal of such State, the votes regularly given of those electors, and those only, of such State shall be counted whose title as electors the two Houses, acting separately, shall concurrently decide is supported by the decision of such State so authorized by its law; and in such case of more than one return or paper purporting to be a return from a State, if there shall have been no such determination of the question in the State aforesaid, then those votes, and those only, shall be counted which the two Houses shall concurrently decide were cast by lawful electors appointed in accordance with the laws of the State, unless the two Houses, acting separately, shall concurrently decide such votes not to be the lawful votes of the legally appointed electors of such State. But if the two Houses shall disagree in respect of the counting of such votes, then, and in that case, the votes of the electors whose appointment shall have been certified by the executive of the State, under the seal thereof, shall be counted. When the two Houses have voted, they shall immediately again meet, and the presiding officer shall then announce the decision of the questions submitted. No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon until the objections previously made to the votes or papers from any State shall have been finally disposed of.
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