On January 6th, 2021 a joint session of Congress will meet on Capitol Hill to certify the votes of the Electors to the Electoral College from each state in the Union. But there is a provision that the Framers put in place to help safeguard from nefarious powers that would seek to steal elections at the ballot box.
The state Electors having already cast their votes on December 14, 2020, in their respective states, signed Certificates of the Vote, which are sent to the Vice President, the archivist, their state’s Secretary of State, and the District Court Judge with purview in their states.
But the final decision on the votes comes on January 6, 2021, when both congressional chambers will meet in a joint session to count, certify the votes, and declare the winners of each state.
It is during this time that objections can be filed but any objection must be endorsed by at least one US Senator and one US Representative.
If an objection is registered properly, the joint session will be recessed, and each chamber will meet separately to debate and vote on the objection. A simple majority can uphold the objection, nullifying the electoral votes for the state in question.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), told reporters that he isn’t ruling out filing an objection to Electoral votes during the joint session.
“We’re still looking at all the legal stuff that’s happening with the legal cases and we’ll make our decision after we’ve seen all the legal challenges,” Paul said on December 10, 2020.
“We’ll make our decision after we’ve seen all the legal challenges.”
Sen. @RandPaul says he could join @RepMoBrooks to file an objection to electoral votes during the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. https://t.co/u0X9DN9TlO
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) December 15, 2020
Recently, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), told reporters that he’s leaving the option open as well.
Johnson is the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee. That committee will hold the first federal-level hearing on the election, citing “irregularities.”
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Rep.-elect Barry Moore (R-AL), and Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have said they are planning to file objections.
The objection of Electoral votes has happened several times throughout the history of our country, including as recently as 2017 when Democrat US Representatives registered objections in the 2016 presidential election over Alabama and Georgia’s votes for President Trump. Then no US senators would join them.
Before that, former US Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), tried to strike Ohio for George Bush back in 2005.
