Prominent Republican and Trump Supporter Comes Out Against Colleagues' Push To Challenge Electoral College By Jack Davis
Published January 4, 2021 at 6:07pm
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas wants further light shed on the irregularities of the 2020 election but will not join colleagues who will be objecting to certifying the results of the Electoral College vote last month.
A joint session of Congress is scheduled for Wednesday, at which time Congress will certify the results of the Electoral College, which last month declared Democratic candidate Joe Biden winner of the Nov. 3 vote.
President Donald Trump’s campaign has insisted that there has been voter fraud in states that include Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania. However, despite numerous claims of voting irregularities, including affidavits alleging fraud sworn to by reported eyewitnesses, no court has yet ruled that widespread fraud materially affected the results of the presidential election.
Although numerous House and Senate Republicans will outline their objections to certifying the vote Wednesday, Cotton said he will not be among them.
“I share the concerns of many Arkansans about irregularities in the presidential election, especially in states that rushed through election-law changes to relax standards for voting-by-mail. I also share their disappointment with the election results. I therefore support a commission to study the last election and propose reforms to protect the integrity of our elections,” Cotton said in a statement.
“And after Republicans win in Georgia, the Senate should also hold more hearings on these matters. All Americans deserve to have confidence in the elections that undergird our free government.
“Nevertheless, the Founders entrusted our elections chiefly to the states — not Congress. They entrusted the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College — not Congress. And they entrusted the adjudication of election disputes to the courts — not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states,” he went on.
Cotton said actions taken hastily could cast a long shadow.
“If Congress purported to overturn the results of the Electoral College, it would not only exceed that power, but also establish unwise precedents. First, Congress would take away the power to choose the president from the people, which would essentially end presidential elections and place that power in the hands of whichever party controls Congress,” he said.
“Second, Congress would imperil the Electoral College, which gives small states like Arkansas a voice in presidential elections. Democrats could achieve their longstanding goal of eliminating the Electoral College in effect by refusing to count electoral votes in the future for a Republican president-elect.
“Third, Congress would take another big step toward federalizing election law, another longstanding Democratic priority that Republicans have consistently opposed.”
Trump blasted Cotton on Twitter, tagging the senator.
“Republicans have pluses & minuses, but one thing is sure, THEY NEVER FORGET!” the president wrote.
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