Page 6 - Turmoil in America: The 2020 Election

even those senators said they expected their objections to fall far
short of denying Biden the Electoral College victory. “We are not
naive,” the Republican senators said in a joint statement. “We fully
expect most if not all Democrats, and perhaps more than a few
Republicans, to vote otherwise.” Yet again referring to unsubstan-
tiated claims of election fraud, they added that “support of elec-
tion integrity should not be a partisan issue.” When members
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of the House of Representatives had their say on the matter, 147
Republican House members voted against accepting the results
of the Electoral College.
As for the vice president rejecting the Electoral College count,
Pence said that while he would permit members of Congress to
lodge objections to the vote, he would take no steps to personally
overturn the count of the Electoral College. Constitutional scholars
were quick to point out that Pence, even if he had wanted to, had
no authority under law to do so. “One of the points of the Electoral
Count Act is to constrain the vice president . . . and make it clear
that he’s a presider, not a decider,” says Trevor Potter, the former
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Following Trump’s orders, Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo initially
refused to meet with Biden to
ensure a smooth transition of power.