So, a group of Republicans in the House of Representatives want Vice President Pence to count only the "right" Electoral votes from swing states that Trump insists he really won, in spite of actual, verified, certified vote counts that say otherwise. And that, they insist, will put Trump back in office.
Not really.
Article II of the Constitution, amended by the 12th Amendment, directs the States to conduct elections and select electors according to rules they set forth, then to convey the *sealed* results to the President of the Senate, who will open and announce the results. It does not give the President of the Senate the perogative to decide which electors from which states he or she will pick.
It doesn't matter if the VP performs the duty of presiding over the Senate on January 6th or not. The results that were certified and sent by the states are what they are, and the only ones that count.
Loosey-goosey personal interpretations of the Constitution, which Republicans abhorred from 1854 to 2014, don't trump the actual Constitution or laws passed by Congress and the states and upheld by the judicial branch, no matter how hysterically they are expressed by the likes of Louie Gohmert or Matt Gaetz. All 50 states have prescribed processes for selecting electors based on the popular vote returns within that state. These laws have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Who gets to vote, how they vote and when they vote is decided by the states (within limits established by the Constitution and various amendments). When the votes are counted is also up to the states, as long as the vote count concludes before the states certify the counts and electors are designated.
Unless fraud can be proven, the vote counts stand. No court in the states or federal judiciary has found any evidence of fraud that would affect the outcome. Although they did find a case of two dead folks whose votes were cast, for Trump.
Joe Biden won the election according to the laws of the 50 states and the Consitution and laws of the United States. Pissy tweets and GOP hissy fits aside, Biden is the President-elect and will be inaugurated on January 20th.
It's how it works. It's how all of this works.
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