What is normally a formality in any presidential election takes on a new meaning in President Trump’s drive to stick to the White House.
The US Constitution requires Congress, overseen by the Vice President, to cast the vote of the electoral college to count and confirm and to officially proclaim the election winner.
This year it could go well into the evening as the GOP legislators in the House of Representatives and in the Senate plan to object to some votes of the electoral college, which triggers hours of debate and voting on every objection.
« They go back to the house, they go back to the Senate and they discuss whether or not this objection should be upheld or overridden or not, » said Hans Von Spakovsky of der Heritage Foundation.
While this is a historic day, it is not unprecedented as major challenges and electoral disputes go back well into the 19th century.
Even in the last three elections, when the Republicans won the White House, the Democrats posed similar challenges to the electoral college in Congress. In one case, a Democratic Senator joined the House Democrats to overthrow Ohio state voters when Bush won in 2004.
This time, Joe Biden was declared president-elect with an election win of 306 against Trump’s 232.
All eyes are now on Vice President Mike Pence. President Trump claims he has the power to turn down voters.
« I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you, » Trump said recently at a rally in Georgia ahead of that state’s runoff election. </ On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Pence told the president that he had no authority to block congressional certification, but the president denies that Pence said so.
Still, many legal experts agree that pence has no authority to overthrow the election.
« I don’t think the constitution provides for this, » said Jay Sekulow, chief attorney for the American Center for Law and Justice, who also served as an attorney for President Trump. « If that were the case, any vice president could turn down any election. »
More than a dozen Republican Senators, led by Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, and 140 Republicans from the House are taking part in the challenge.
Politico reports, however, that at least 24 Republican senators are known to vote for Biden’s victory, and another 14 have not taken a public stand.
As all of this goes on, thousands of Christians will march in the nation’s capital and will pray and say the concern of religious believers about this choice should not be ignored.
Stay up to date with the free CBN NEWS app. Click here. Get the app with special breaking news and top stories notifications
God is everywhere – even on the news. Therefore we look at every message through the lens of faith. We are committed to high quality, independent Christian journalism that you can trust. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do. Help us continue to be a voice for the truth in the media by supporting CBN News for just $ 1.
Ref: https://www1.cbn.com
