Republicans who oppose Wednesday’s election count have a proposal to deal with the controversy – that Congress postpone action for 10 days so that an “emergency” election commission can audit the results and investigate allegations of electoral fraud in the United States. contested states.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, cited public opinion polls on the fidelity of the presidential election as a reason for establishing such a commission.
“I understand your concerns, but I ask you to stop and think about what it says to almost half the country that believes the election was rigged if we don’t even consider allegations of illegality and fraud,” he told colleagues in the Senate, many of whom criticized your efforts.
Cruz cited a 145-year precedent for such a panel. The 1876 presidential race between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden was also marked by allegations of widespread fraud. A congested Congress decided to appoint an electoral commission – with five members of the House, five senators and five Supreme Court judges – to investigate and resolve differences over the count.
“What I’m advocating is that Congress should do the same thing. We must have a fair investigation, a fair audit of these results and we must resolve these claims – not just dismiss them immediately,” said Maria Bartiromo, Fox News presenter, on Sunday.
But there are some crucial differences between the 1876 election controversy and today’s elections. In the first, Congress received duel plates from voters in three states – Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina. This did not happen this time. Only one official voter slate has been certified by each state, despite efforts by some Republicans to submit competing lists of names from various states.
In addition, unlike 1876, the many allegations of fraud in this year’s elections have been repeatedly refuted through audits, recounts, state and court investigations. Judges, including some nominated by President Trump, rejected the allegations in dozens of cases.
On a more practical level, it would be almost impossible for a newly formed independent commission to investigate so many allegations and reach an agreement on the facts in just 10 days. The 1876 commission took weeks of contentious negotiations to reach an agreement, which effectively ended Reconstruction.
Even a staunch supporter of Trump, like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, dismissed the commission’s latest proposal as little more than a feat.
“Proposing a commission on this late date – which has a zero chance of coming true – is not effectively fighting for President Trump,” he tweeted on Sunday. “It appears to be more of a political elusive than an effective remedy.”
It would also not be the first time that Trump and his supporters have convened a commission to investigate unfounded allegations of widespread electoral fraud. And it didn’t end well. The president appointed a bipartisan panel shortly after his election in 2016, in which he claimed that between 3 million and 5 million people voted illegally. The commission was controversial from the start and met only twice before being dissolved amid various lawsuits and complaints from state election officials about the panel’s demand for sensitive election files.
During its seven months of existence, the panel found no evidence of widespread fraud.
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