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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 27 sepTember 2022
Continued from Front sponded that if lawmakers
The move to curtail the ob- believed there had been
jections is part of a larger too many objections in the
effort to overhaul the 1800s- past, "you should absolute-
era Electoral Count Act ly be supporting this legisla-
and safeguard the integ- tion."
rity of the vote after Trump Hawley, who was photo-
tried to persuade his Re- graphed raising a fist to
publican allies in Congress pro-Trump protesters out-
to vote against Democrat side the Capitol ahead
Joe Biden's victory and of last year's joint session,
overturn his 2020 defeat. said in an interview that he
Under current law, only one is "skeptical" of the effort
member of the House and to change a law that has
one member of the Senate been in place for so many
has to challenge a state's years.
results to trigger votes on "My concern is that it's go-
that state's electors in each ing to look like to Republi-
chamber. If a simple major- can voters that Democrats
ity in each chamber votes can object as much as of-
to sustain the objection, ten as they want," the Mis-
that state's votes can be souri Republican said, not-
thrown out. ing the objections in 2000,
The House and Senate 2004 and 2016.
bills would each raise that "As soon as Republicans
threshold substantially, with Vice President Mike Pence hands the electoral certificate from the state of Arizona to Sen. Amy do, they change the law,"
Klobuchar, D-Minn., as he presides over a joint session of Congress as it convenes to count the
the House bill requiring a Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Hawley said. "I can promise
third of each chamber to Jan. 6, 2021. you, that will be the per-
object and the Senate bill Associated Press ception."
requiring a fifth of each Still, 11 Republican senators
chamber to object. The dent Mike Pence. senators joined a member to the Electoral Count have signed on to the Sen-
House legislation, passed House Administration of the House to object to Act since the 2021 insur- ate bill, enough to break a
last week, would also lay Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren the vote of one elector in rection, saying the law's filibuster and pass the bill in
out new requirements for of California, the Demo- North Carolina during the vague language was not the 50-50 Senate.
the grounds for an objec- cratic sponsor of the House certification of Republican robust enough protection Pennsylvania Sen. Pat
tion. bill with Republican Rep. Liz Richard Nixon's victory. In against Trump's overt at- Toomey, who is retiring,
"It is just too easy to trigger Cheney of Wyoming, said 2004, Democratic Sen. Bar- tempts to subvert the will of was the latest GOP senator
an objection when it only the bill would protect the bara Boxer of California the people. The bills would to sign on to the legislation
requires one person in each voters' will from "frivolous" and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs also clarify that the vice last week. "The poor draft-
chamber," says Maine Sen. objections and more sinis- Jones, D-Ohio, objected to president's role is solely cer- ing of the 1887 Electoral
Susan Collins, a Republican ter efforts. President George W. Bush's emonial and try to prevent Count Act endangered
co-sponsor of the Senate "If you want to object to the electors in Ohio over what states from creating slates the transition of power from
version. Eleven GOP sena- vote, you better have your they said were voting irreg- of illegitimate electors, as one Administration to the
tors have signed on to the colleagues and the Con- ularities. Trump's allies tried to do. next," Toomey said when
legislation, which is up for a stitution on your side," Lof- In both cases, the House The House bill is more ex- he announced his support.
vote in a Senate commit- gren said just before the bill and the Senate rejected pansive than the Senate "Unfortunately, in the over
tee on Tuesday. passed. "Don't try to over- the objections. bill, and the two sides will 100 intervening years, indi-
If the bills are consolidated turn our democracy." In several other instances, eventually have to resolve vidual Democratic and Re-
into one measure that be- At the 2021 joint session, members of the House have their differences into a sin- publican members of Con-
comes law, it will do away two GOP senators — Ted lodged objections without gle measure. That includes gress have occasionally at-
with a tradition that has be- Cruz of Texas and Josh the support of a senator. the House language with tempted to exploit the am-
come increasingly popular Hawley of Missouri — joined In 2000, several members new grounds for any objec- biguities in this law to cast
as Congress has become a larger group of House Re- of the Congressional Black tion, which would restrict doubt on the validity of
more polarized. publicans in objecting to Caucus objected to Bush's the process even further. our elections, culminating
Democrats have objected Biden's electoral votes in electors in Florida after the Under the House legislation, in the debacle of January
the last three times that Arizona and Pennsylvania, Supreme Court had forced no member could make an 6, 2021," he said. "It is past
Republicans were elected two swing states that Trump a halt to vote-counting in objection unless it fell under time Congress act."q
— twice against George had won in the 2016 elec- that state and decided the a strict set of parameters
W. Bush and once against tion but lost in 2020. Both election. Vice President Al that relate to the Constitu- ARUBA
Trump — but in each of the House and the Senate Gore, whom Bush had de- tion — that the state is not
those cases the Democrat- voted to certify Biden's win feated, gaveled the objec- validly a state, if the state
ic candidate had already in those states in the hours tions down as he presided submits too many electoral CLEAN
conceded the election. after the rioters had injured over the session. votes or if a candidate is
The stakes were raised con- police officers, rampaged In 2016, several Democrats not eligible, for example.
siderably in 2021, when through the Capitol and stood and objected to House Republicans argued
Trump and his allies were sent lawmakers running for Trump's win over Democrat against the legislation by
actively trying to thwart their lives. But eight sena- Hillary Clinton but no sena- saying it was a political at-
Biden's win, with a strategy tors and almost 140 mem- tor joined, and Vice Presi- tack on Trump, noting the
to throw out Biden electors bers of the House voted to dent Joe Biden dismissed frequent Democratic ob-
in Congress and the sup- sustain the objections. them. Like Gore, Clinton jections over the years. It
port of a violent mob that Congress had only held had already conceded only received nine Repub-
broke into the Capitol, in- such votes twice since the defeat. lican votes, all from mem-
terrupted the joint session enactment of the Electoral Members on both sides bers who are not returning IS MORE
and threatened the lives of Count Act 135 years ago. of the Capitol have been to the House next year.Rep.
lawmakers and Vice Presi- In 1969, two Democratic working on the revisions Jamie Raskin, D-Md., re- DUSHI