The history of the Electoral College
Fox News’ Todd Piro explains the Electoral College and the important role it plays in the 2020 race.
More than 100 House Republicans, including Reps. Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks and Elise Stefanik, are expected to object to at least one state during the the Jan. 6 certification of the presidential election results, Fox News has learned.
Fox News has learned that Jordan, R-Ohio, Brooks, Ala., Stefanik, R-N.Y., as well as Republican Reps. Jody Hice, Matt Gaetz, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Debbie Lesko, Louie Gohmert, among others will object during the joint session on Wednesday.
It is unclear, at this point, which states, and how many, these Republican lawmakers will object.
Two House Republican officials told Fox News on Sunday, though, that the more than 100 GOP House members plan to object Wednesday to the election results in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin.
In a statement on Monday, Stefanik, R-N.Y., announced her plans to object to "certain contested electors."
"I do not take this action lightly. I am acting to protect our democratic process," Stefanik said. "Article II and the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution make clear that I have an obligation to act on this matter if I believe there are serious questions with respect to the Presidential election."
Stefanik added that she believes "those questions exist."
"Tens of millions of Americans are rightly concerned that the 2020 election featured unprecedented voting irregularities, unconstitutional overreach by unelected state officials and judges ignoring state election laws, and a fundamental lack of ballot integrity and security," she said. "As a Member of Congress, I am committed to restoring the faith of the American people in our elections - that they are free, fair, secure, and according to the United States Constitution."
But a number of House Republicans, like Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom McClintock of California, Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, and freshman Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina have taken issue with efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race, seeking to protect the Electoral College.
The group of Republicans said in a statement over the weekend that they are "outraged at the significant abuses in our election system resulting from the reckless adoption of mail-in ballots and the lack of safeguards maintained to guarantee that only legitimate votes are cast and counted," and added that it is "shameful" that Congress has only held one hearing on election integrity since Nov. 3.
The group said that elections held "in at least six battleground states raise profound question, and it is a legal, constitutional, and moral imperative that they be answered."
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN CONGRESS MEETS TO COUNT ELECTORAL COLLEGE RESULTS
However, the group said to "unconstitutionally insert Congress into the center of the presidential election process—would amount to stealing power from the people and the states."
"It would, in effect, replace the electoral college with Congress, and in so doing strengthen the efforts of those on the left who are determined to eliminate it or render it irrelevant," they said in a statement.
The group took issue with the fact that Republican presidential candidates have only won the national popular vote once in the last 32 years, and have, instead, "depended on the electoral college for nearly all presidential victories in the last generation."
"If we perpetuate the notion that Congress may disregard certified electoral votes—based solely on its own assessment that one or more states mishandled the presidential election—we will be delegitimizing the very system that led Donald Trump to victory in 2016, and that could provide the only path to victory in 2024," they said.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, a group of Republican senators led by Ted Cruz are "still discussing" which states, if any, they will object to during the Jan. 6 certification of the presidential election results, with sources telling Fox News that "no conclusions" have been reached yet.
Cruz, R-Texas, and the group — which includes Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Mike Braun of Indiana; Steve Daines of Montana; Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; John Kennedy of Louisiana; James Lankford of Oklahoma; Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming; Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama — said over the weekend they would object to the certification unless there was an emergency 10-day audit of the results by an electoral commission.
But as of Monday, a source familiar told Fox News that discussions are ongoing. Another source told Fox News that the senators have been engaged in numerous phone calls and conference calls, but said that "no conclusions" had been reached.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have begun putting pressure on Republicans in the upper chamber of Congress to object to election results in at least three states in an effort to impact the outcome of the presidential race – which was called, in November, in favor of President-elect Joe Biden.
House Republican sources told Fox News Sunday that there is a growing concern that the Republican senators will not object to enough states to make a difference in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which the Electoral College has decided in favor of Biden.
Last month, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., became the first Republican senator to commit to objecting to the election results, and specifically said he would do so in at least one state – Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, two sources told Fox News that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., separately, may object to at least one state during the joint session, but it is unclear, at this point, which state, if any, that may be.
GOP SENATORS, LED BY CRUZ, TO OBJECT TO ELECTORAL COLLEGE CERTIFICATION, DEMAND EMERGENCY AUDIT
Paul’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
The issue of Electoral College certification, though, is not being whipped by Senate Republican leadership, meaning they are not driving the Republican conference in a certain direction. As previously reported, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has referred to this as a "vote of conscience."
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators on Sunday said efforts to object to the Electoral College results this week by Republicans only will "undermine" confidence in the 2020 election.
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President Trump’s campaign has launched a number of legal challenges, while Trump himself has urged states with Republican governors and legislatures to overturn Biden’s victories.
While the Trump campaign has challenged the results in dozens of lawsuits, judges in multiple states have shot them down. Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press last month that "to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election."
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