@prashanthamine
Mumbai: In what appears to be the last throw of the dice for out-going US President Donald Trump, he and his supporters have all pinned their hopes on Vice President and President of the Senate, Mike Pence as he presides over count of Electoral College votes of the November 2020 US Presidential elections on January 6. Already his critics are calling for the second impeachment of Trump before his Presidency is due to end on January 20.
Opinions are divided on whether Pence has the powers to overturn the results even as Republicans are ready to raise objections to the Electoral College votes in key seven states. Some argue that Pence has just a ceremonial role in overseeing the vote count. The move by some Republican Congressmen and Senators has even divided the Republicans, even Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
Both the House of Representatives (Congress) and the Senate will meet in a joint session on January 6 to decide on counting of Electoral College votes. The joint session will be presided over by Mike Pence who is the president of the Senate. The count of the Electoral College will be held serially in an alphabetical manner beginning from Alabama.
As per the rules, Vice President Mike Pence will open all certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of the electoral votes. Rules further state that a nod is needed for the 7 states that have sent so-called Competing Electors – or certificates for both Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. Republicans contend that voters have cast alternate vote for Trump in these seven states.
It is here that about 55 Republican Congressmen from the House of Representatives and 13 Republican Senators from the Senate plan to raise objections to the Electoral College slate’s sent by the 7 states. In these 7 states, the Republicans are in power in 6 of those states. Republicans have been alleging election irregularities including voter fraud and failure to follow state election laws.
If the objections are allowed, this will trigger a withdrawal from the joint session and will be followed by a two hour debate. The debate will be followed by a vote by both the houses in their respective chambers.
It is only a majority vote from both the House of Representatives (Congress) and the Senate would a challenge be upheld. Critics argue that such a possibility is unlikely as the Democrats control the Congress and the Republicans the Senate. However, there are some critics who point to the re-election of Democrat Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the Congress in a wafer-thin vote on January 4.
Trump in his remarks hoped that Vice President Mike Pence will do more than just carry out a ceremonial role during the joint session of the Congress to count Electoral College votes on January 6.
Vice President Mike Pence too has fuelled speculations by his remarks while campaigning for elections in Georgia. His remarks while addressing the crowds “will have our day in Congress” and “We’ll hear the objections. We’ll hear the evidence”.
Trump and his allies hope that Pence will reject the slate of electors from the disputed contested states. However, critics argue that Pence role is simply ministerial in that he only has the ability to count the votes even if he has concerns over their validity.
Trump campaign legal advisor Jenna Ellis suggested that Pence could delay the certification of the Electoral College votes and ask the State Legislatures in the 6 contested states to determine which slate of electors should be selected. Critics argue that the move will push the Congress to adopt alternative votes that haven’t been authorized by state officials.
There are disputes over election results in 6 key states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. Of these 6 states, 5 have legislatures controlled by the Republicans. They have the powers to send a new slate of electoral votes to the Congress, if they decide such an action is appropriate under state laws, unless that happens between January 3 to January 6, Congress will have no authority to influence the outcome of the 2020 Presidential elections.
Matters have been further complicated by White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro who has stated that the January 20 date of Inauguration Day could be changed. However, as per Section 1 of the 20th Amendment of the US Constitution which reads thus, “the terms of the President, Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January and terms of their successors shall then begin”. Navarro however, still maintains that this can be changed actually.
To even further complicate the matters and further delay the process, 11 Republican Senators want to press for the Congress to appoint an Electoral Commission to conduct an emergency 10 day audit of the November 2020 election results.
What has further raised the hackles of the Republicans is the publication of a paper by Edward B. Foley, “Preparing for a Disputed Presidential Election: An Exercise in Election Risk Assessment and Management” which was published days before the November 2020 Presidential elections in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. The paper predicted “what could happen” from November 3 to December 14, 2020 and from January 6 to January 20, 2021. Republicans argue that what has been happening until now, is happening exactly the way the paper predicted before the elections.
It is the last throw of the dice for the Republicans, especially Trump as he desperately tries to overturn the November 2020 election results. Taking no chances the National Guard has been activated in Washington DC to support police during the pro-Trump protests on January 6. The November 2020 US Presidential elections have been one of the most disputed and controversial.
