Thoughts on Today’s Election Certification
Here’s why I believe we ought not lose hope just yet in the integrity of our elections.
Today will be a tumultuous day for the country. Congress will convene in about five minutes to tally the Electoral College votes and declare the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
There is a lot swirling around on Facebook, group texts and elsewhere about what might happen today. There are some, including President Trump himself, who believe that Trump will be declared the winner by Mike Pence. Or that if Joe Biden’s victory is confirmed, it’s because of an effort by Democrats and Republicans alike to steal the election.
A stolen election is a very serious charge so it’s no wonder that those who believe this would be angry and confused about what will transpire today. Millions of people, including many in my famly and friends community, believe that the election was stolen, or, at least, that we can’t really know for certain either way.
This can all seem overwhelming. How could millions of people believe something that is just not true? Who can we really trust? How do we know what is true anymore?
Well, we can still know things to be true! Or, at least, we can have a rest-easy type of confidence about what likely did and did not happen leading up to and on election day 2020.
Some of us may not rest easy about a Biden presidency but at the very least we can rest easy knowing that our election system and election workers counted all legal votes and Joe Biden won a legitimate election. We don’t need to lose hope, and I hope we don’t.
Hope is a good thing, of course, but often just hoping for something is not enough. Let’s look at three Republicans who we can and should trust on this matter.
First, Stephanos Bibas. Bibas is a federal judge appointed by President Trump in 2017, a married father of four and a deacon in the Orthodox Catholic Church since 2015. In November, President Trump filed a lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania. The effort was unsuccessful. Judge Bibas wrote the opinion and started things off with the type of strong rebuke that has been echoed by many other judges in many other, similar lawsuits:
“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
In 63 lawsuits since election day, the Trump campaign has lost 62 and won 1. The lone victory was in Pennsylvania in which a judge ruled that a small number of ballots cast by voters who had not shown supplemental identification should be set aside; I don’t believe those votes have ever been a part of the overall count in PA. Judges have sometimes scolded the campaign for coming into the courtroom with so little substance. Some lawsuits are ongoing.
Though the justice system is far from perfect, these results are telling. It’s one thing to say to a room full of supporters that the election was rigged; another to say and prove these things before a federal judge. So far, the allegations have been proven baseless. If we’re going by what Trump is saying to a room full of supporters or what is being said by dozens of federal judges, I’m going with the judges.
Second, Gabriel Sterling. Sterling, a top election official in Georgia, came into the spotlight last month for his sharp condemnation of the president and his allies for continuing their claims of voter fraud in Georgia without proper evidence to back them up, especially as more and more Trump supporters seem to be on the brink of taking matters into their own hands. His tirade, including the now-famous line, “Someone’s going to get killed,” is worth a watch.
On Monday, Sterling held a press conference in which he systematically debunked the Trump campaign’s allegations of voter fraud, including the “mysterious suitcase of votes” theory that was shared by many in the Trump campaign and believed by many supporters still to this day. I don’t expect you to watch the entire 30-minute press conference but I did and it’s worth it.
Sterling is a self-proclaimed “lifelong Republican” who voted for Trump in 2020.
Finally, Mitt Romney. Mitt, by all accounts, seems like a man of faith and character. He released a statement ahead of the election certification tomorrow and his words speak for themselves. It’s a few paragraphs but I’m copying the whole thing here:
“The egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic. The congressional power to reject electors is reserved for the most extreme and unusual circumstances. These are far from it. More Americans participated in this election than ever before, and they made their choice. President Trump’s lawyers made their case before scores of courts; in every instance, they failed. The Justice Department found no evidence of irregularity sufficient to overturn the election. The Presidential Voter Fraud Commission disbanded without finding such evidence.
“My fellow Senator Ted Cruz and the co-signers of his statement argue that rejection of electors or an election audit directed by Congress would restore trust in the election. Nonsense. This argument ignores the widely perceived reality that Congress is an overwhelmingly partisan body; the American people wisely place greater trust in the federal courts where judges serve for life. Members of Congress who would substitute their own partisan judgement for that of the courts do not enhance public trust, they imperil it.
“Were Congress to actually reject state electors, partisans would inevitably demand the same any time their candidate had lost. Congress, not voters in the respective states, would choose our presidents.
“Adding to this ill-conceived endeavor by some in Congress is the President’s call for his supporters to come to the Capitol on the day when this matter is to be debated and decided. This has the predictable potential to lead to disruption, and worse.
“I could never have imagined seeing these things in the greatest democracy in the world. Has ambition so eclipsed principle?”
I know there are many out there who believe that I, just like Mitt Romney and others, have simply fallen prey to deep state manipulation efforts.
This may be true. Time will tell. The truth tends to find its way through even the tiniest of cracks.
Don’t lose hope, folks. If your candidate didn’t win, go vote in a couple years and trust that your vote will count.
