U.S. Senate Democrats have objected to at least some Electoral College ballots the last three times Republican candidates have won the Presidency, while Senate Republicans have not succeeded on any challenge, Virginia Allen wrote for the Daily Signal platform on Jan. 4. Democrats objected in 2001 and 2005, when the 2000 and 2004 races were won by George W. Bush. Democrat Hillary Clinton objected in 2017 when Donald Trump won the election on Nov. 8, 2016.
In January 2001, after George W. Bush won a very narrow victory over Democratic Vice-President Al Gore, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) objected to Bush’s slate of 25 electors from Florida, which were highly contested. Gore, as President of the Senate, refused to accept Waters’ objection, because it was not co-signed by a Senator, as required by the Electoral Count Act of 1887. In 2005, then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) both objected to then-President Bush’s slate of electors from Ohio. Both chambers adjourned for two hours, as required by law, to debate whether to reject those electors, but neither one did.
In 2005, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) praised Boxer. “Some may criticize our colleague from California for bringing us here for this brief debate,” Durbin told the Senate. “I thank her for doing that because it gives members an opportunity once again on a bipartisan basis to look at the challenge we face not just in the last election in one state, but in many states.” Another Democrat, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said both Boxer and Tubbs Jones had “performed a valuable public service in bringing this debate before the Congress: “As Americans, we should all be troubled by reports of voting problems in many parts of the country. I have been particularly concerned about the lack of a verifiable paper record in connection with electronic voting systems…. It would be irresponsible to use the certification process to attempt to change the result. Doing so would establish a terrible precedent.”
Last week, Senators Van Hollen and Durbin slammed Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) when he tweeted, “Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on Jan. 6 on their behalf.” The grounds were that the states unconstitutionally changed voting rules ahead of the Nov. 3 election. But Hawley also said, “I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega-corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere with the election, in support of Joe Biden.”
Van Hollen tweeted, “Sen. Hawley’s actions are grossly irresponsible. He’s attempting to undermine our democratic process, fuel Trump’s lies about voter fraud, and delay the certification of Biden’s win. In the end, this reckless stunt will fail, and Joe Biden will become President on Jan. 20, 2021.” Senator Durbin threw in that Hawley’s objection was “the political equivalent of barking at the Moon. This won’t be taken seriously, nor should it be. The American people made a decision on November 3rd, and that decision must and will be honored and protected by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.” https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/01/04/in-past-20-years-democrats-objected-3-times-to-electoral-college-certifications/
