[inquest]

In either event, Congress in Joint Session with the President of the Senate in the chair is the judge of electoral votes-NOT the USSC.

Except I think it could be argued that it could be appealed to SCOTUS afterwards.

[Congressman Billybob]

No, the decision of Congress on how to count the Electoral College votes in a disputed Presidential election can NOT be appealed to the Supreme Court. Witness the Hayes-Tilden election, decided by a single vote in the College, after a special Commission in Congress awarded ALL of the disputed College votes to Hayes.

In many clauses, the Constitution gives the power to do a certain act only to a certain individual or group -- the President, the Senate, the Congress, the states, the state legislatures, etc. When such a specific commitment is made, not only is the Supreme Court powerless to change that, it is also obligated by its oath of office to support such commitments -- because they are part of the Constitution.

The whole doctrine of separation of powers is based on obeying these specific divisions of responsibility that were placed in the Constitution to create the "checks and balances" by which each part of government is intended to be a watchdog over the others. There have been more than a few failures in this area, especially in the last fifty years. But the general theory is still alive and well.

Congressman Billybob

[Jim Noble]

>>Except I think it could be argued that it could be appealed to SCOTUS afterwards<<

The choosing of elected officials is political-and it is best left to the political branches of government.