Louie Gohmert sues Mike Pence in bid to overturn election results
A group of Republicans led by Rep. Louie Gohmert on Monday sued Vice President Mike Pence in an unusual gambit aimed at overturning President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s election victory.
The lawsuit claims Mr. Pence has the “exclusive authority” to decide which electors should be counted when Congress meets on Jan. 6 to finalize the results of last month’s presidential election.
The certification is a largely procedural issue overseen by the sitting vice president under an arcane law from 1887 known as the Electoral Count Act.
That will put Mr. Pence in the uncomfortable role of announcing a Biden victory.
Mr. Gohmert, Texas Republican, argued in the lawsuit that Mr. Pence’s role in overseeing the election certification also gives him the authority to decide which electors are chosen.
He says Mr. Pence can select the Republican electors, who support President Trump in five states where the election results were contested.
Those five states have 73 electoral votes, more than enough to hand a victory to Mr. Trump.
“Under the Twelfth Amendment, defendant Pence alone has the exclusive authority and sole discretion to open and permit the counting of electoral votes or a given state and when there are competing slates of electors or where there is objection to any single slate of electors, to determine which electors’ votes or whether none should be counted,” the lawsuit says.
A spokesperson for Mr. Pence declined to comment.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/dec/28/louie-gohmert-sues-mike-pence-bid-overturn-electio/?
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