Appearing on the Maria Bartiromo show this morning, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who assembled a group of 11 GOP senators to object to the certification of the Nov. 3 election and propose a ten-day audit of the election, supports withholding certification of the electors from half a dozen states, until such an audit is completed. Responding to polls showing a large portion of U.S. voters who believe there was fraud during the election, Cruz expressed his disappointment that the Supreme Court declined to take cases from Pennsylvania and Texas, denying that forum as a way of resolving the issues presented. Therefore, he reasoned, the Congress has a responsibility to determine whether the election was properly conducted.
Cruz pointed to the problems in two approaches: One being simply to allow the process to play out on Wednesday, Jan. 6 without objecting to the injustice, and the second being attempts to decide, on Jan.6, that Donald Trump won the election. Declaring both proposals unprincipled, Cruz explained that he looked back to the 1876 Hayes-Tilden election, and the creation at that time of an electoral commission — comprising House members, Senators, and Supreme Court Justices — to look into vote fraud and come to a determination.
Responding to calls from other Senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to refrain from objecting, Cruz pointed to the responsibility to determine the truth, given that 39% of Americans consider the election to have been rigged. Failing to resolve the accusations would be a grave failure to defend American democracy. As the investigation unfolds, the states may be called upon to appoint electors as they deem fit.
Regarding the right of Congress to intervene into the counting of electoral votes, Cruz pointed to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, established in the wake of the 1876 election. (Although this Act, being legislation, could be challenged to the extent that it conflicts with the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments.)
