Sen. Ted Cruz says he won’t certify Electoral College votes that cement Joe Biden’s victory
U.S Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas announced that he and 10 other GOP senators would vote to reject the certification of the presidential election next week unless there is an audit of the results by an electoral commission.
Cruz and the other 10 senators said the 2020 election featured “unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting irregularities,” according to a joint statement released Saturday. On Wednesday, Cruz and other senators will vote against certifying President-elect Joe Biden.
Biden won 306-232 in the Electoral College and won the popular vote by more than 7 million votes. Cruz’s effort will not stop Biden’s victory as both the House and Senate would have to uphold objections and Democrats control the House.
Claims of voter fraud from the Republican Party have largely been dismissed by election officials, judges and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who said there was no evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the results of the presidential election.
But still, Cruz will lead these senators and wants an Election Commission to conduct an emergency 10-day audit in disputed states. The statement does not specify what states should be audited nor do the senators provide evidence for their voter fraud claims. If this commission were to be approved, it would push the certification of the election until Jan. 16.
“A fair and credible audit - conducted expeditiously and completed well before January 20 - would dramatically improve Americans’ faith in our electoral process and would significantly enhance the legitimacy of whoever becomes our next President,” the statement reads.
The Republican senators also mentioned that Democrats have challenged the results of an election before in 1969, 2001, 2005 and 2017, according to the statement.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a senior Republican, said in early December that there is no justification to overturn the Electoral College outcome.
Cruz will be joined by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana along with Sens.-Elect Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
