Mike Pence Chief of Staff: Vice President ‘Welcomes’ Congressional Challenge of Electoral Votes

Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, said Saturday that the vice president “welcomes the efforts of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people,” according to the BBC.

Short said Pence shared “the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)is leading that effort to challenge the electoral vote in six contended swing states in the 2020 election by seeking a 10-day delay of the electoral certification vote so an audit of the electoral vote can be conducted to make sure President-elect Joe Biden won the presidency in a free and fair election.

Pence, as president of the Senate, will preside over the joint session of the House and Senate to conduct the vote to confirm Biden’s election.

So far, 11 Senators, including Cruz, have vowed to press for an audit, according to a Fox News report:

In a statement, the 11 senators led by Texas Senator Ted Cruz said November’s election had “featured unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting irregularities”.

Citing a precedent from 1877 — when a bi-partisan committee was formed to investigate after both parties claimed victory in three states — they urged Congress to appoint a commission for an “emergency 10-day audit of election returns in the disputed states.”

“Once completed, individual states would evaluate the commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed,” said the statement, which noted, “We are not naïve. We fully expect most, if not all, Democrats, and perhaps more than a few Republicans, to vote otherwise.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the first Senator to state he would object to the electorate vote, joining an estimated 140 lawmakers in the House who have vowed to reject the results, setting in motion a floor debate before a final vote to confirm Biden’s election.

“The Biden camp has not responded to the latest move to object to the election result,” Fox News reported. “But Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki has described Hawley’s attempt as ‘antics.’”

“The American people spoke resoundingly in this election and 81 million people have voted for Joe Biden and [Vice-President-elect] Kamala Harris,” Psaki said. “Congress will certify the results of the election as they do every four years.”

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