Posted on 01/06/2021 1:37:52 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said that he doesn’t believe he has the “unilateral authority” to decide between competing slates of electors.
“It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” Pence said in a statement released just before a joint session of Congress began.
As president of the Senate, Pence is presiding over the session. The purpose of the session is to count electoral votes.
Under the Electoral College system, voters choose electors. Those electors then vote, almost always for the candidate that received the most ballots in their state. Congress meets in the January after an election to tally the votes.
Typically a rote affair, this session has taken on heightened significance after seven states sent two certificates to Washington, one for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and one for President Donald Trump. Biden won the states but Trump has said he was cheated.
Trump and some Republicans argue that Pence has the “exclusive authority” to reject electoral votes for Biden and choose the ones for Trump. A lawsuit asking a court to support that view was rejected by a district judge. An appeal was dismissed, though the plaintiffs earlier Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
Do you think he actually met with President Trump and talked man to man about this? I don’t think so.
Last I checked, there’s nothing in the Constitution that’s purely “ceremonial.”
where in the constitution does it say one has to engage/support fraud?
Look, if there is U.S. Code that comports with the Constitution and that allows the Veep to reject certificates under certain circumstances, then I’m his huckleberry!
Well, I would have been his huckleberry, anyhow.
"Article IV, Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government [emphasis added], and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence."
"Because eleven Southern states had declared secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, only twenty-five states participated in the election." — Presidential election of 1864.
Didn’t stop Jefferson, Pence.
Yep. Zero Minute might have happened a few hours ago.
why do they have to be bought off or blackmailed? He’s bush GOP. They hate trump. that’s never changed
Better to refer the issue to the Supreme Court first. Force the cowards to get off their knees and make the call. If the Court balks the House option is still available. Of course it’ll take time...
Therefor Biden was REQUIRED to reject the challenges."
Of course. But he, nor Pence, or algore...or ANY other VP does NOT have the unilateral authority to reject elector votes.
It's just not within their authority...and thank God for that.
The law allows Congress to object, not the vice-president. And Congress was in the process of debating the Arizona objection when all this stuff broke out. Pence did his job by recognizing the objection and adjourning the Senate and the House to their respective chambers.
Pence is not saying that electoral college slates can't be rejected, he's saying he's not the one who can do it.
That’s another plausible way to get around it, I suppose.
So much for his solemn, measured Christian tones and gravitas — he ‘s a coward.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Pence needs to do it.... JUST BECAUSE!!!!
Completely spineless.
If this were the Dems under the same circumstances... YOU BETCHA they would be pulling EVERY trick out of their rear-ends to stop the certifications.
“If a VP could unilaterally reject elector votes, they could effectively “install” a president because they could OVERRIDE any congressional vote. You moron you.”
What?
That makes no sense. Congress votes. All the vp could do is turn it over the congress to vote on who becomes President. The exact opposite of overriding congress.
You don’t understand how contingency voting works or can’t articulate what you’re trying to say.
If, as presiding officer, Mr. Pence, you accept ILLEGALLY UnConstitutionally determined Electors— and you would be knowingly provably doing this (with all the info you have been receiving and Cyber Command Proof— remember Space Force?) — then you would be violating your Oath of Office. The Constitution is clear on your Plenary Powers in this session- which you MUST take action against a fraudulent unconstituional Electoral vote slate from a State.
That is your Duty. Not what you “believe” your powers to be. The Founders intended for the outgoing VP to preside over Electors, precisely to defend against fraud and theft of the People’s vote. PAY ATTENTION. Or face grave consequences.
Hey, Mike. Don’t ever run for any office where you’re counting on my vote.
Dear VP Pence please consult Thomas Jefferson .....
Jenna Ellis (Constitutional Law Attorney. Senior Legal Adviser @TeamTrump and Counsel to @realDonaldTrump. )
I am deeply disappointed in @Mike_Pence. The Constitution constrains, yes, and that’s why we worked hard to provide him with a constitutional option to protect election integrity.
BUT, he should not have been in that position—state leadership was cowardly first; SCOTUS was also.
We cannot preserve a republic if those in power fail to protect it. What happened to standing up honorably and putting God, country, family above one’s self?
This is not over. We have to restore election integrity in our nation and with it, our founding principles and values.
I stand with President Trump and VP Pence condemning the violence at the Capitol and in DC today. That is not a display of patriotism or conservatism. We cannot abandon our principles because the other side is evil. We can’t help the left tear down our country.
In God We Trust.
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