Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann announced Saturday they will oppose the Electoral College certification of the presidential election.
Rep. Fleischmann said, “The 2020 Presidential Election was rife with irregularities in many states. After speaking with constituents across the third district of Tennessee, I will object to the certification of the Electoral College on Wednesday. We must protect the integrity of our elections by ensuring only legal votes are counted, and illegal ones are not. I continue to stand with President Trump and support his efforts to bring transparency to our election system.
"On Jan. 6, 2021, I will support efforts by my colleagues in the House and Senate to cast light on concerns about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election by objecting during the Electoral College certification. While it has been largely ignored by the media, there are a large number of Americans who do not have faith in the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, including many of my own constituents who have voiced their concerns to me and my office. It would be a disservice to our future elections if we certify the Electoral College results and move on when there has not been any attempt to put the worries of many Americans at ease with a thorough investigation into the allegations of fraud and questions of election integrity.
“My support of the objections will not be unprecedented. Following the 2000, 2004, and 2016 elections, Democrats in Congress objected during the certification of electoral votes in order to raise concerns about election integrity. We are now also entitled to voice our concerns about the integrity of the 2020 election.
“Many Americans are genuinely concerned and do not have faith in this election. It should be our number one priority to ensure that all Americans have faith in the integrity of our elections. Certifying and moving on without an investigation will only go to further fray and dissolve the trust Americans have in the foundation of our country, our elections. I cannot vote to certify the 2020 Electoral College results when real concerns about election integrity from many Americans across this nation, and in East Tennessee, have been mocked and ignored.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn and Senator-elect Bill Hagerty said, “Tennesseans elected us as their United States Senators to represent their views and values in Washington and to always fight for them, which is why we have concluded without any reservation that we will stand against tainted electoral results from the recent Presidential election. We know that our elections, built around the Electoral College which is a fundamental element, are the envy of the world. Protecting their integrity and ensuring the results are free and fair are critical to maintaining the trust of our own citizens.
"Since Nov. 3, hardworking men and women from across Tennessee have contacted us to justifiably express anger and concern that some states conducted the recent election in a manner that did not respect the rule of law and may have violated many of their state constitutions as well as Article II of the U.S. Constitution. Many are concerned about the sanctity of the one person one vote guarantee. Our founders understood that it is ultimately the people’s job to preserve the sanctity of these most fundamental American systems, and so they charged the people’s representatives in Congress with a specific role in the process. We plan to exercise that role fully in the new Congress.”
TNDP Chair Mary Mancini said, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the election. As of today, Donald Trump has lost 60 out of 61 lawsuits contesting the results, and countless state election officials - both Republican and Democrat - have demonstrated the integrity of the November election. There is simply no proof that the results are anything but the legitimate will of the American people. The decision by Senators Blackburn and Hagerty to refuse to accept the results of this fair and free election undermines the electoral process we have relied on for more than two centuries That they would bend their conscience and character to please one man, Donald Trump, is un-American, a betrayal of the oath they took to defend and protect the constitution, and a slap in the face of the Tennesseans they swore to serve.”