A coalition of senators and elected senators from the Republican Party, led by Senator Ted Cruz, will oppose the January 6 certification of presidential election results when a joint session of Congress meets next week unless there is an emergency audit 10 days of results by an electoral commission.
Cruz – along with Sens. 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 Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo .; Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. And Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. – they say the election “presented unprecedented allegations of electoral fraud and illegal conduct.”
Their effort is separate from that announced by Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Who said this week that he would object to what he said was the failure of some states – mainly Pennsylvania – to follow their own electoral laws.
HAWLEY SAYS IT WILL OBJECT TO THE CERTIFICATION OF THE ELECTORAL FACULTY OF BIDEN’S VICTORY IN JAN. 6
“Electoral fraud represented a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are contested. By any measure, allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 elections exceed any in our lives,” say lawmakers in a statement.
A source familiar with the effort told Fox News that it was Cruz who orchestrated the effort, working with other senators to organize the effort against certification and to convene the electoral commission with a few days left for the joint session of Congress.
Lawmakers say there is a precedent for Democrats objecting to the election results in 1969, 2001, 2005 and 2019: “And in both 1969 and 2005, a Democratic senator joined a Democratic deputy to force votes in both houses over the acceptance of presidential voters being challenged, “they say.
Senators and elected senators are calling on Congress to appoint an Electoral Commission to conduct a 10-day emergency audit of election results in the states where the results are contested. They cite the precedent of 1877 between Samuel Hayes and Rutherford Hayes, where there were allegations of fraud in several states.
“In 1877, Congress did not ignore these claims, nor did the media simply dismiss those who accused them of radicals trying to undermine democracy,” said lawmakers. “Instead, Congress appointed an Electoral Commission – made up of five senators, five members of the House and five Supreme Court judges – to consider and resolve disputed returns.”
“We must follow this precedent. Namely, Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigative and fact-finding authority, to conduct a 10-day emergency audit of electoral results in the disputed states. individual states would do to evaluate the conclusions of the Commission and can convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if necessary “, they say.
Without that, they will vote against certification.
“Consequently, we intend to vote on January 6 to reject voters from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘legally certified’ (the legal requirement), unless and until the 10-day emergency audit is completed,” they say. them in the statement.
It is unclear whether they will bring together more Republicans for their cause, and lawmakers note that most Democrats and some Republicans will vote to certify the results, but say an audit would increase public faith in the process.
“These are matters worthy of Congress and we have been entrusted with the defense. We don’t act lightly. We are not acting to prevent the democratic process, but to protect it, ”they say. “And each of us must act together to ensure that the election is conducted legally in accordance with the Constitution and do everything we can to restore faith in our democracy.”
The new effort by senators marks a major victory for President Trump’s efforts to challenge the election results. Trump has repeatedly stated that he beat Biden, who beat several red states, including Georgia and Arizona, to beat the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the White House.
The Trump campaign launched a series of legal challenges, while Trump himself urged states with Republican governors and legislatures to overturn Biden’s victories – as he claims that widespread voter fraud tipped the scales for Biden.
Republican Party leaders in the Senate are against efforts to challenge Biden’s victory, with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell acknowledging the former vice president’s victory and behind closed doors asking Senate Republicans to do not contest the election results.
But if Republican Party senators object, with a similar effort from House Republicans, the joint session of Congress would be dissolved and the House and Senate would meet separately for two hours to debate a state’s contested electoral vote.
Each body would then vote whether to accept or reject that state’s electoral vote list. Then, the Chamber and the Senate meet in the joint session.
In the House, at least 10 new freshmen from the Republican Party will support Congressman Mo Brooks’ effort to object to the certification of the results of the presidential election on January 6.
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The last time this happened (and only the second in the history of the United States) was in January 2005, after President George W. Bush’s narrow victory in re-election over Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. A Democratic senator – Senator Barbara Boxer of California – and a House Democrat – Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones – objected. In 2017, a handful of House Democrats opposed Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but no Senate Democrats joined them.
A state’s list of electoral votes would only be rejected if the House and Senate voted to do so – something that is unlikely, given the Democratic majority in the House and pressure from Republican leaders in the Senate to certify.
Paul Steinhauser, Jason Donner, Marisa Schultz and Tyler Olson of Fox News contributed to this report.