Vice President Mike Pence can overrule the Electoral College and effectively decide the 2020 presidential election himself, according to a lawsuit filed by Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, which Pence is fighting.
“Under the Constitution,” Gohmert claims in a brief, Pence “has the authority to conduct that proceeding as he sees fit. He may count elector votes certified by a state’s executive, or he can prefer a competing slate of duly qualified electors. He may ignore all electors from a certain state. That is the power bestowed upon him by the Constitution.”
He adds that the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution “unequivocally entrusts to him [Pence] all the prerogatives and rights to determine what electoral votes to count.”
The congressman’s lawyers claim that a court striking down a century-old law that keeps Congress in control of counting electoral votes is the best solution for resolving ongoing contention over the election.
“By reaffirming the Constitutional prerequisites and processes for deciding the Presidential election and granting the relief requested, this Court can set the stage for a calm and permanent resolution of any and all objections and help smooth the path toward a reliable and peaceful conclusion to the presidential election process,” they wrote.
However, Pence himself has asked the court to reject Gohmert’s lawsuit, and attorneys for the Justice Department representing Pence have argued that he is not a proper or logical defendant for the suit, and that Gohmert should be suing Congress, not the vice president, according to Politico.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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