Last week, 11 senators and senators-elect jointly vowed to reject the results of the Electoral College when Congress convenes on Wednesday to tally the votes certifying Joe Biden as President-elect.
Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), as well as Senators-Elect Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) issued a joint statement over the weekend announcing their plan to reject the results, citing unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations, and lax enforcement of election law and other irregularities that have caused a “deep distrust of our democratic processes” that will not “magically disappear” and “should concern us all.”
“Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed,” the statement read. “By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes.
The statement went on to note that serious allegations fraud and illegal conduct were presented in 1877 during the Hayes-Tilden presidential election. They said the allegations weren’t ignored or dismissed as attempts to undermine democracy. Rather, Congress appointed an Election Commission to resolve the concerns.
“We should follow that precedent. To wit, Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states. Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed,” the statement read.
The senators said the courts should have heard evidence and resolved the claims, but the Supreme Court declined to take on the issue of serious voter fraud twice.
As a result, the senators argued that Congress should do what they can to address the allegations of voter fraud and restore faith in the electoral process.
“But support of election integrity should not be a partisan issue,” the statement said. “A fair and credible audit-conducted expeditiously and completed well before January 20 would dramatically improve Americans’ faith in our electoral process and would significantly enhance the legitimacy of whoever becomes our next President. We owe that to the People.”
The statement continued, “These are matters worthy of the Congress, and entrusted to us to defend. We do not take this action lightly. We are acting not to thwart the democratic process, but rather to protect it. And every one of us should act together to ensure that the election was lawfully conducted under the Constitution and to do everything we can to restore faith in our Democracy.”
The senators’ announcement came after Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first senator to pledge on Dec. 30 to reject certification during the upcoming joint session of Congress.
