Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent events surrounding the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
Congress’ role in the presidential election process is narrow by design. States are responsible for their own elections and for determining the resulting electors. Accordingly, Congress has no authority to do anything other than certify states’ Electoral College votes as reported.
Under federal law, electoral votes are counted during a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the fixed date of January 6 following each presidential election. According to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, members of Congress may object to the counting of the electoral votes from one or more states or the District of Columbia. Objections must be signed by at least one representative and one senator and “shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof.”
If an objection to a state’s electoral votes is received and meets the requirements, each chamber convenes separately to consider whether to concur with the objection. If both chambers vote to affirm the objection by a simple majority, then that state’s votes are discarded and the electoral victory threshold decreases. If the objection fails, then the original electoral votes for that state are counted and the process of counting the remaining states’ electoral votes continues. Prior to the 2020 election, there were only two instances of bicameral electoral vote challenges since 1887. In both instances, the objections were rejected by the House and the Senate.
On January 6, 2021, as Congress met to debate a bicameral objection to the electoral votes from the State of Arizona, a violent mob of rioters breached and then occupied the U.S. Capitol, disrupting the constitutional and democratic process of counting all states’ certified electoral votes. In America, we have a right to peacefully protest, but what occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 went against everything we stand for as a nation. Violence, no matter the venue, no matter the cause, is not a legitimate means of achieving social change or relieving political frustrations.
Like many Hoosiers, I too wish the results of the 2020 election were different. Over the last four years, I have strongly supported President Trump and I am proud of the list of accomplishments we’ve secured for the American people – including the confirmation of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, implementing significant regulatory reform, combating opioid abuse, and instituting historic tax reform for the first time in 31 years. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has stated that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud substantial enough to change the outcome of the election.
As stated in Section 5 of Title 3 of the U.S. Code, whenever any state makes a final determination by judicial or other means of any controversy or contest concerning the appointment of electors, that determination is conclusive as long as it is made at least six days before the fixed meeting of the Electoral College. On December 14, 2020, the Electoral College met and confirmed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election based on the results formally certified by the states on or before December 8, in compliance with federal law.
Given that, for Congress to supplant the will of states’ certified electors for its own would be unconstitutional and set a dangerous precedent, damaging the integrity of and respect for the Electoral College. Upon assuming this office, I took a solemn, inviolable oath to support and defend our Constitution, just as I did as a United States Marine. I have not violated that oath and will continue to uphold it.
Hours after the U.S. Capitol was initially breached and in spite of these attempts to undermine the electoral system, Congress reconvened to complete the Electoral College certification process. In short, the Senate voted to dismiss the objections raised to Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electors by a vote of 93 to 6 and 92 to 7, respectively. Americans voted, the Electoral College voted, and then Congress was obligated to fulfill its role in turn without disenfranchising the American people. For that reason, I voted to certify the will of the states as presented and uphold my constitutional duty as a United States Senator.
With that said, the election systems and procedures many states have implemented have caused people to question the integrity of the ballot and our electoral system as a whole. With these concerns in mind, I see value in establishing a bipartisan Election Integrity Committee charged with reviewing the 2020 election and making recommendations to state legislatures to improve the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections. That is why I joined several of my colleagues in introducing legislation that would create such a committee, with the ultimate goal of restoring Americans’ confidence in the integrity of our political systems.
I believe it is essential that Hoosiers – and all Americans – have full confidence in the integrity of our election system, and we must ensure appropriate safeguards are in place at the state and local level to restore voters’ trust.
Again, thank you for contacting me. It is an honor to represent you in the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Todd Young
United States Senator
Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent events surrounding the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
Congress’ role in the presidential election process is narrow by design. States are responsible for their own elections and for determining the resulting electors. Accordingly, Congress has no authority to do anything other than certify states’ Electoral College votes as reported.
Under federal law, electoral votes are counted during a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the fixed date of January 6 following each presidential election. According to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, members of Congress may object to the counting of the electoral votes from one or more states or the District of Columbia. Objections must be signed by at least one representative and one senator and “shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof.”
If an objection to a state’s electoral votes is received and meets the requirements, each chamber convenes separately to consider whether to concur with the objection. If both chambers vote to affirm the objection by a simple majority, then that state’s votes are discarded and the electoral victory threshold decreases. If the objection fails, then the original electoral votes for that state are counted and the process of counting the remaining states’ electoral votes continues. Prior to the 2020 election, there were only two instances of bicameral electoral vote challenges since 1887. In both instances, the objections were rejected by the House and the Senate.
On January 6, 2021, as Congress met to debate a bicameral objection to the electoral votes from the State of Arizona, a violent mob of rioters breached and then occupied the U.S. Capitol, disrupting the constitutional and democratic process of counting all states’ certified electoral votes. In America, we have a right to peacefully protest, but what occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 went against everything we stand for as a nation. Violence, no matter the venue, no matter the cause, is not a legitimate means of achieving social change or relieving political frustrations.
Like many Hoosiers, I too wish the results of the 2020 election were different. Over the last four years, I have strongly supported President Trump and I am proud of the list of accomplishments we’ve secured for the American people – including the confirmation of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, implementing significant regulatory reform, combating opioid abuse, and instituting historic tax reform for the first time in 31 years. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has stated that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud substantial enough to change the outcome of the election.
As stated in Section 5 of Title 3 of the U.S. Code, whenever any state makes a final determination by judicial or other means of any controversy or contest concerning the appointment of electors, that determination is conclusive as long as it is made at least six days before the fixed meeting of the Electoral College. On December 14, 2020, the Electoral College met and confirmed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election based on the results formally certified by the states on or before December 8, in compliance with federal law.
Given that, for Congress to supplant the will of states’ certified electors for its own would be unconstitutional and set a dangerous precedent, damaging the integrity of and respect for the Electoral College. Upon assuming this office, I took a solemn, inviolable oath to support and defend our Constitution, just as I did as a United States Marine. I have not violated that oath and will continue to uphold it.
Hours after the U.S. Capitol was initially breached and in spite of these attempts to undermine the electoral system, Congress reconvened to complete the Electoral College certification process. In short, the Senate voted to dismiss the objections raised to Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electors by a vote of 93 to 6 and 92 to 7, respectively. Americans voted, the Electoral College voted, and then Congress was obligated to fulfill its role in turn without disenfranchising the American people. For that reason, I voted to certify the will of the states as presented and uphold my constitutional duty as a United States Senator.
With that said, the election systems and procedures many states have implemented have caused people to question the integrity of the ballot and our electoral system as a whole. With these concerns in mind, I see value in establishing a bipartisan Election Integrity Committee charged with reviewing the 2020 election and making recommendations to state legislatures to improve the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections. That is why I joined several of my colleagues in introducing legislation that would create such a committee, with the ultimate goal of restoring Americans’ confidence in the integrity of our political systems.
I believe it is essential that Hoosiers – and all Americans – have full confidence in the integrity of our election system, and we must ensure appropriate safeguards are in place at the state and local level to restore voters’ trust.
Again, thank you for contacting me. It is an honor to represent you in the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Todd Young
United States Senator
I don't believe this Senator realizes what time it is.
He forgot he's up for reelection next year. Guess Mitch didn't tell him senators have to behave the last two years of their term.
All I read was blah blah blah I like to take it in the ass by the ccp blah blah blah.
Got a similar one from my bs Senator in NC.
Perhaps we should get a collection of all these BS responses and sticky them somewhere...
Response from Tom Cotton, AR:
Thank you for contacting me about Congress’s recent certification of the 2020 Electoral College results. It’s good to hear from you, as always.
Many Arkansans have raised concerns about irregularities in November’s presidential election. I share many of those concerns. Several states rushed through changes to their election laws. These changes included sending unsolicited mail-in ballots, relaxing standards for voting by mail, and removing electoral safeguards, such as signature-matching or postal-marking requirements. That’s why I have introduced legislation to create an electoral commission to examine the 2020 election and propose reforms to restore confidence in the security and integrity of our future elections.
Nonetheless, our Founding Fathers entrusted the electoral process chiefly to individual states—not Congress. They entrusted presidential elections to the people, by way of the Electoral College—not Congress. They entrusted the adjudication of electoral disputes to the courts—not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting the certified electoral votes submitted by the states. Congress carried out this duty on January 6.
Unfortunately, some elected representatives misunderstood these constitutional principles and gave many Americans false hopes about what could or should happen when Congress gathered to count the electoral votes. Objecting to the certified electoral votes submitted by the states would not have given the president a second term. But those objections would have overstepped Congress’s constitutional authority, creating a dangerous precedent by which the majority party in Congress could de facto decide presidential elections. This precedent would effectively render the Electoral College obsolete, reducing Arkansans’ voice in future presidential elections.
I’m thankful for our many accomplishments over the past four years, but Congress couldn’t give the president a second term by invalidating the results of the election. And the attempt to do so would have only emboldened those Democrats who want to further erode the esteemed traditions of our constitutional republic.
I’m honored to serve as your senator. You, your family, and our state will remain on my mind and close to my heart in my duties. Always feel free to call my office at (202) 224-2353, or visit www.cotton.senate.gov for further information. Sincerely,
Tom Cotton United States Senator
A sniveling pack of lies.
"Violence, no matter the venue, no matter the cause, is not a legitimate means of achieving social change or relieving political frustrations" (unless you are a Democrat or support Democrat causes)
"Americans voted" (to re-elect President Trump)
I wrote to him too but have not received my reply. We will not forget the "Republicans" who spat in the faces of their constituents and stabbed their President in the back!
Pretty sure there will be a MAGA list in the next year for who to primary. TD.W will lead the charge. WWG1WGA