BRYAN, TX — The results of the 2020 Presidential Election reached its final step Jan 6. in Washington as Congress voted to accept the Electoral College’s certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump; this final step, however, did not coming without disruption.
Several members of Congress objected to the certification during what is, traditionally, a routine joint session. Congressman Pete Sessions saying, transparency has lacked in states that have declared Joe Biden the winner.
“I believe, there is significant information that has changed since the reporting by states over the last month. There’s a lot of information that has been gained about irregularities,” says Sessions, (R.) U.S. District 17 Congressman.
Since the mid-20th century, Congress has met in joint session every four years on Jan 6. to tally votes in the Electoral College.
“Essentially, what they do is they open the envelopes that the states have sent, indicating how the various state’s electors voted in the Electoral College,” says Emily Berman, an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center.
While today's objections by Republicans do not come as a surprise, they do bring up the questions of the reconstruction statue.
Known as the Electoral County Act of 1877, it explains as to why Congress is involved in the final step of the Electoral College.
“It’s an effort to set up a process to resolve any disputes that might arise out of the Electoral College votes.
To have a centralized authority, that determines, yes, these are valid votes and they are going to be counted,” says Berman.
Berman says while these objections will not change the outcome of the election, it does place the Electoral College under scrutiny within our democratic system.
“This procedure that we are seeing today, is not helping the electoral college any better than it did before we entered these particular days,” says Berman.
Congressman Sessions says his rejection is in an effort to get this election, 'right'.
“My point is, we need to get this right, right now. And I think agreeing to it, you don’t get it right. I think by rejecting it, it begins a line of discussion that needs to take place on or about January the sixth, as opposed to January 21st for four more years,” says Sessions.