January 2, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), 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.), and Senators-Elect Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) issued the following statement in advance of the Electoral College certification process on January 6, 2021:"America is a Republic
whose leaders are chosen in democratic elections. Those elections, in turn,
must comply with the Constitution and with federal and state law.
"When the voters fairly
decide an election, pursuant to the rule of law, the losing candidate should
acknowledge and respect the legitimacy of that election. And, if the voters
choose to elect a new office-holder, our Nation should have a peaceful transfer
of power.
"The election of 2020,
like the election of 2016, was hard fought and, in many swing states, narrowly
decided. The 2020 election, however, featured unprecedented allegations of
voter fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting
irregularities.
"Voter fraud has posed a
persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are
disputed. By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the
2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes.
"And those allegations are
not believed just by one individual candidate. Instead, they are widespread. Reuters/Ipsos polling, tragically, shows that
39% of Americans believe ‘the election was rigged.' That belief is held by
Republicans (67%), Democrats (17%), and Independents (31%).
"Some Members of Congress
disagree with that assessment, as do many members of the media.
"But, whether or not our
elected officials or journalists believe it, that deep distrust of our
democratic processes will not magically disappear. It should concern us all.
And it poses an ongoing threat to the legitimacy of any subsequent
administrations.
"Ideally, the courts would
have heard evidence and resolved these claims of serious election fraud. Twice,
the Supreme Court had the opportunity to do so; twice, the Court declined.
"On January 6, it is
incumbent on Congress to vote on whether to certify the 2020 election results.
That vote is the lone constitutional power remaining to consider and force
resolution of the multiple allegations of serious voter fraud.
"At that quadrennial joint
session, there is long precedent of Democratic Members of Congress raising
objections to presidential election results, as they did in 1969, 2001, 2005,
and 2017. And, in both 1969 and 2005, a Democratic Senator joined with a Democratic
House Member in forcing votes in both houses on whether to accept the
presidential electors being challenged.
"The most direct precedent
on this question arose in 1877, following serious allegations of fraud and
illegal conduct in the Hayes-Tilden presidential race. Specifically, the
elections in three states-Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina-were alleged
to have been conducted illegally.
"In 1877, Congress did not
ignore those allegations, nor did the media simply dismiss those raising them
as radicals trying to undermine democracy. Instead, Congress appointed an
Electoral Commission-consisting of five Senators, five House Members, and five
Supreme Court Justices-to consider and resolve the disputed returns.
"We should follow that
precedent. To wit, Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission,
with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency
10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states. Once completed,
individual states would evaluate the Commission's findings and could convene a
special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed.
"Accordingly, we intend to
vote on January 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly
given' and ‘lawfully certified' (the statutory requisite), unless and until
that emergency 10-day audit is completed.
"We are not naïve. We
fully expect most if not all Democrats, and perhaps more than a few
Republicans, to vote otherwise. But support of election integrity should not be
a partisan issue. A fair and credible audit-conducted expeditiously and
completed well before January 20-would dramatically improve Americans' faith in
our electoral process and would significantly enhance the legitimacy of whoever
becomes our next President. We owe that to the People.
"These are matters worthy
of the Congress, and entrusted to us to defend. We do not take this action
lightly. We are acting not to thwart the democratic process, but rather to
protect it. And every one of us should act together to ensure that the election
was lawfully conducted under the Constitution and to do everything we can to
restore faith in our Democracy."
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