Last Updated on December 20, 2020
Citing the United States Constitution and U.S. Code, Constitutional Lawyer Ivan Raiklin says it is Vice President Mike Pence’s duty to instruct states to expeditiously send their Electoral College Certificates immediately if they have not been received.
U.S.C. 12 explains that “When no certificate of vote and list mentioned in sections 9 and 11 of this title from any State shall have been received by the President of the Senate or by the Archivist of the United States by the fourth Wednesday in December, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held, the President of the Senate … shall request, by the most expeditious method available, the secretary of state of the State to send up the certificate…”
Beyond the allegations and evidence of widespread fraud presented by both President Donald Trump’s legal team and independent lawyers and witnesses across the United States, several states have now sent competing slates of delegates to Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Republicans in Pennsylvania and Arizona have asked the U.S. Congress not to accept the votes assigned by the state’s Secretary of State, suggesting they represent fraudulent election results.
Should Pence take this action, he is then instructed by the law to request these states immediately send accurate Electoral College Certificates before January 6.
Raiklin told National File that Pence will essentially force states to reclaim their Constitutional power to appoint Electoral College votes.
“That forces State Legislatures’ hand,” said Raiklin. “Pence can force the legislatures to reclaim their Constitutional power, hold a session, and appoint the Electoral College votes themselves as the Supreme Court did not address this issue.”
https://twitter.com/Raiklin/status/1340664814788612099
According to Raiklin, the Constitution would allow these states to be completely stricken from the Electoral College if Pence should refuse to accept them, and the number of Electoral College votes required to win would shrink dramatically from 270. President Trump would win under a simple majority of Electoral College votes, 232-227, without any risk of triggering a contingent election.
https://twitter.com/raiklin/status/1340670966867832836?s=21
While many legal scholars have indicated there is ambiguity about how Electoral Votes are accepted, the media has maintained that Biden’s electoral win was secured on December 14, and will be confirmed on January 20. However, Raiklin tells National File he is willing to defend his analysis.
“I challenge any attorney anywhere to fact check this. If you have a different legal analysis, prove it.”
Should Republicans push for a contingent election, President Trump’s victory would again rely on Pence to cast the tie breaking vote after the House and Senate are deadlocked on whether battleground states Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin should be stricken from the total. Should neither candidate reach 270 votes, a contingent election would almost certainly see President Trump reelected by a vote cast by individual states, not Representatives, in the House, and Vice President Pence reelected in the Senate.
President Trump and his Republican allies in the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate have been preparing for an Electoral College contest on January 6 that may well lead to a contingent election. According to Raiklin, this would spare the country from this almost wholly uncharted territory.
