Post by the Scribe on Jan 28, 2021 8:52:45 GMT
I contacted my senator when I read an article that she was one of two Democrats siding with Mitch McConnell in keeping the filibuster. Needless to say I was outraged. This is her response back but she still didn't answer my question if she was one of the two. I pointed out the role conservative media played and is still playing in American's (for the worse). So this is basically a form response sent out to everyone that asks the same types of questions.
Thank you for contacting me about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and the presidential transition. I always appreciate hearing from Arizonans about issues facing our state and country. It is important that we have conversations about topics that matter to you and your family, and I hope you will continue to reach out to me and share your perspectives and suggestions.
Article II of the United States Constitution sets forth the process for electing the President of the United States. The president is chosen indirectly by a group of people known collectively as the Electoral College. The Electoral College is made up of officials called electors, who are selected by American voters. There are 538 electors, which is the same number of elected officials in Congress plus three electors allocated to the District of Columbia. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the presidential candidate who wins the state's popular vote receives the entire slate of electors. Maine and Nebraska use a district system, which awards two electors to the winner of the statewide popular vote and one to the popular vote winners in each congressional district.
On Election Day, voters cast a vote for their preferred presidential and vice-presidential candidates, among other candidates on the ballot. These votes are technically cast not for the candidates themselves, but rather for their state's slate of electors pledged to those candidates. Later, the electors meet in their respective states to cast their votes for president and vice president. Each state's secretary of state is responsible for confirming the validity of the ballots cast in the election and certifying election results. Once certified by state officials, state electoral votes are then reported to Congress, counted, and declared at a joint session of Congress on January 6. A majority of electoral votes (currently 270 of 538) is required to win.
The Electoral Count Act of 1887 established a process by which members of Congress can formally object to an individual state's electoral votes during the January 6 joint session. One representative and one senator must object in writing to a state's results in order to advance the process. Objections can be made if the electors' votes have not been "regularly given," meaning they have been influenced by bribery or were made in error, or if the electors were not lawfully certified according to that state's laws. Each chamber of Congress then debates and votes to accept or reject the objection. Both houses must accept the objection in order to exclude the contested electoral votes from the final count.
The 2020 presidential election was held on November 3, 2020, with incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence running against former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris for the positions of president and vice president. A record 80 percent of registered voters in Arizona participated in the 2020 elections, including many who voted early. Arizona elections have included early voting for more than 100 years and our state has implemented strict safeguards to ensure election security, including tracking mechanisms, tamper-resistant envelopes, and training election staff to authenticate signatures. In Arizona, election officials ensured our system worked and our laws were upheld.
On November 7, 2020, the Associated Press and other major news networks projected that former Vice President Joe Biden would win the 2020 presidential election. On November 23, 2020, the General Services Administration allowed Mr. Biden and Senator Harris to begin the transition process as president-elect and vice president-elect. All states and the District of Columbia certified their election results by December 9, 2020, and the electors cast their votes for president and vice president on December 14. Mr. Biden and Senator Harris received 306 electoral votes, 36 votes above the 270-vote threshold, while President Trump and Vice President Pence received 232 electoral votes.
Following Election Day, unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and ballot tampering were raised to undermine the validity of the results. President Trump claimed the election was "rigged" against him and called for the election results to be overturned. On November 12, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency deemed the 2020 election the most secure in American history, stating that there was no evidence that any state's voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was compromised in any way. On December 1, Attorney General William Barr announced that the U.S. Department of Justice had not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud. Nonetheless, plaintiffs filed 60 court cases to challenge election procedures, vote counting processes, and vote certification in multiple states, including Arizona. Most cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence, and no case was successful in challenging any state's election results or demonstrating sufficient evidence of widespread voter fraud or ballot tampering. On December 11, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that sought to temporarily withhold electoral votes from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Eight challenges to the Arizona election were brought to the courts but all were dropped or dismissed. The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously upheld the result of the election.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Congress gathered to perform the largely ceremonial duties of counting and certifying the electoral college results of the 2020 presidential election. During the joint session of Congress, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) objected to counting Arizona's electoral votes. I spoke on the Senate floor to urge my colleagues to reject meritless challenges to the electoral college vote count, uphold the will of Arizona's voters, and take a step toward renewing Americans' faith in our democracy.
Before the Senate could vote on the Arizona objection, business in both chambers of Congress was suspended after rioters, encouraged by President Trump, stormed the Capitol building. These rioters breached the Capitol and illegally gained access to multiple internal areas, sending the building into lockdown until federal and local law enforcement officials were able to secure the area hours later. These riots left five people dead, including a police officer. In addition, multiple police officers were injured, and areas of the Capitol were vandalized. When Congress resumed business later that evening, the objection to Arizona's electoral votes failed in the Senate by a vote of 93 to six and in the House by a vote of 303 to 121. I voted to uphold the results of the Arizona election, and Arizona's electoral votes were included in the official count.
Following the violence at the Capitol, multiple members of Congress announced they no longer intended to challenge states' electoral votes. House members objected to electoral results from Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, but no senators supported these challenges. Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) objected to Pennsylvania's results, but that objection was also defeated in the Senate by a vote of 92 to seven and in the House by a vote of 282 to 138. I voted to uphold the results of the Pennsylvania election. The electoral vote count concluded early on the morning of January 7, 2021, and Vice President Pence formally affirmed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the 2020 election. President Biden and Vice President Harris were sworn into office on January 20, 2021.
Many officials from both political parties called for President Trump's removal from office, asserting that he incited the violent insurrection by making unsubstantiated claims about election irregularities and encouraging the rioters to use force. On January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice declined to rule out pursuing charges against President Trump. On January 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution by a vote of 223 to 205 to call on Vice President Pence to mobilize senior administration officials to invoke the 25th amendment and remove President Trump. Vice President Pence declined to invoke the 25th amendment. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced H. Res. 24 on January 11, 2021. H. Res. 24 would impeach Mr. Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, including willfully making statements that encouraged and foreseeably resulted in the violence at the Capitol. The House voted to pass the article of impeachment by a bipartisan vote of 232 to 197 on January 13. Mr. Trump will only be convicted of these charges if two-thirds of the Senate vote in favor of impeachment.
I am heartbroken at the violent insurrection that took place at the Capitol on January 6. I will forever be grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders who risked their own safety for others. This violent insurrection was incited by Donald Trump, and these threats to our democracy cannot become commonplace in America. Our country must remain the shining light and model for democracy and peaceful transitions of power, where the people's voice is the law of the land. The 2020 Arizona election was a successful demonstration of the will of Arizona voters. Arizona election officials from both parties have said Arizona's election was fair. Challenging Arizona's legitimate election fails any factual analysis, and threatens to rob more than three million Arizonans of a free and fair election. Our country must now reject violence and recommit to the values that make us American.
Elected officials swear an oath to the Constitution to put the interests of the country and its national security above their own. The right to vote, faith in the integrity of our electoral process, and trust in elected officials are critical to the health and vitality of our democracy. The results of the 2020 presidential election are certain, and it is necessary for all elected officials and government leaders to work with President Biden and Vice President Harris to ensure a seamless transfer of power to the new administration. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the presidential transition process, strengthen our democracy, and increase trust in government.
Thank you for sharing your view on this issue with me. Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any future questions or comments. Additionally, if you would like to stay connected to our office with the latest news, legislation, and other useful information, please visit our website, sinema.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Kyrsten Sinema
United States Senator
Thank you for contacting me about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and the presidential transition. I always appreciate hearing from Arizonans about issues facing our state and country. It is important that we have conversations about topics that matter to you and your family, and I hope you will continue to reach out to me and share your perspectives and suggestions.
Article II of the United States Constitution sets forth the process for electing the President of the United States. The president is chosen indirectly by a group of people known collectively as the Electoral College. The Electoral College is made up of officials called electors, who are selected by American voters. There are 538 electors, which is the same number of elected officials in Congress plus three electors allocated to the District of Columbia. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the presidential candidate who wins the state's popular vote receives the entire slate of electors. Maine and Nebraska use a district system, which awards two electors to the winner of the statewide popular vote and one to the popular vote winners in each congressional district.
On Election Day, voters cast a vote for their preferred presidential and vice-presidential candidates, among other candidates on the ballot. These votes are technically cast not for the candidates themselves, but rather for their state's slate of electors pledged to those candidates. Later, the electors meet in their respective states to cast their votes for president and vice president. Each state's secretary of state is responsible for confirming the validity of the ballots cast in the election and certifying election results. Once certified by state officials, state electoral votes are then reported to Congress, counted, and declared at a joint session of Congress on January 6. A majority of electoral votes (currently 270 of 538) is required to win.
The Electoral Count Act of 1887 established a process by which members of Congress can formally object to an individual state's electoral votes during the January 6 joint session. One representative and one senator must object in writing to a state's results in order to advance the process. Objections can be made if the electors' votes have not been "regularly given," meaning they have been influenced by bribery or were made in error, or if the electors were not lawfully certified according to that state's laws. Each chamber of Congress then debates and votes to accept or reject the objection. Both houses must accept the objection in order to exclude the contested electoral votes from the final count.
The 2020 presidential election was held on November 3, 2020, with incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence running against former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris for the positions of president and vice president. A record 80 percent of registered voters in Arizona participated in the 2020 elections, including many who voted early. Arizona elections have included early voting for more than 100 years and our state has implemented strict safeguards to ensure election security, including tracking mechanisms, tamper-resistant envelopes, and training election staff to authenticate signatures. In Arizona, election officials ensured our system worked and our laws were upheld.
On November 7, 2020, the Associated Press and other major news networks projected that former Vice President Joe Biden would win the 2020 presidential election. On November 23, 2020, the General Services Administration allowed Mr. Biden and Senator Harris to begin the transition process as president-elect and vice president-elect. All states and the District of Columbia certified their election results by December 9, 2020, and the electors cast their votes for president and vice president on December 14. Mr. Biden and Senator Harris received 306 electoral votes, 36 votes above the 270-vote threshold, while President Trump and Vice President Pence received 232 electoral votes.
Following Election Day, unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and ballot tampering were raised to undermine the validity of the results. President Trump claimed the election was "rigged" against him and called for the election results to be overturned. On November 12, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency deemed the 2020 election the most secure in American history, stating that there was no evidence that any state's voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was compromised in any way. On December 1, Attorney General William Barr announced that the U.S. Department of Justice had not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud. Nonetheless, plaintiffs filed 60 court cases to challenge election procedures, vote counting processes, and vote certification in multiple states, including Arizona. Most cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence, and no case was successful in challenging any state's election results or demonstrating sufficient evidence of widespread voter fraud or ballot tampering. On December 11, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that sought to temporarily withhold electoral votes from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Eight challenges to the Arizona election were brought to the courts but all were dropped or dismissed. The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously upheld the result of the election.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Congress gathered to perform the largely ceremonial duties of counting and certifying the electoral college results of the 2020 presidential election. During the joint session of Congress, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) objected to counting Arizona's electoral votes. I spoke on the Senate floor to urge my colleagues to reject meritless challenges to the electoral college vote count, uphold the will of Arizona's voters, and take a step toward renewing Americans' faith in our democracy.
Before the Senate could vote on the Arizona objection, business in both chambers of Congress was suspended after rioters, encouraged by President Trump, stormed the Capitol building. These rioters breached the Capitol and illegally gained access to multiple internal areas, sending the building into lockdown until federal and local law enforcement officials were able to secure the area hours later. These riots left five people dead, including a police officer. In addition, multiple police officers were injured, and areas of the Capitol were vandalized. When Congress resumed business later that evening, the objection to Arizona's electoral votes failed in the Senate by a vote of 93 to six and in the House by a vote of 303 to 121. I voted to uphold the results of the Arizona election, and Arizona's electoral votes were included in the official count.
Following the violence at the Capitol, multiple members of Congress announced they no longer intended to challenge states' electoral votes. House members objected to electoral results from Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, but no senators supported these challenges. Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) objected to Pennsylvania's results, but that objection was also defeated in the Senate by a vote of 92 to seven and in the House by a vote of 282 to 138. I voted to uphold the results of the Pennsylvania election. The electoral vote count concluded early on the morning of January 7, 2021, and Vice President Pence formally affirmed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the 2020 election. President Biden and Vice President Harris were sworn into office on January 20, 2021.
Many officials from both political parties called for President Trump's removal from office, asserting that he incited the violent insurrection by making unsubstantiated claims about election irregularities and encouraging the rioters to use force. On January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice declined to rule out pursuing charges against President Trump. On January 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution by a vote of 223 to 205 to call on Vice President Pence to mobilize senior administration officials to invoke the 25th amendment and remove President Trump. Vice President Pence declined to invoke the 25th amendment. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced H. Res. 24 on January 11, 2021. H. Res. 24 would impeach Mr. Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, including willfully making statements that encouraged and foreseeably resulted in the violence at the Capitol. The House voted to pass the article of impeachment by a bipartisan vote of 232 to 197 on January 13. Mr. Trump will only be convicted of these charges if two-thirds of the Senate vote in favor of impeachment.
I am heartbroken at the violent insurrection that took place at the Capitol on January 6. I will forever be grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders who risked their own safety for others. This violent insurrection was incited by Donald Trump, and these threats to our democracy cannot become commonplace in America. Our country must remain the shining light and model for democracy and peaceful transitions of power, where the people's voice is the law of the land. The 2020 Arizona election was a successful demonstration of the will of Arizona voters. Arizona election officials from both parties have said Arizona's election was fair. Challenging Arizona's legitimate election fails any factual analysis, and threatens to rob more than three million Arizonans of a free and fair election. Our country must now reject violence and recommit to the values that make us American.
Elected officials swear an oath to the Constitution to put the interests of the country and its national security above their own. The right to vote, faith in the integrity of our electoral process, and trust in elected officials are critical to the health and vitality of our democracy. The results of the 2020 presidential election are certain, and it is necessary for all elected officials and government leaders to work with President Biden and Vice President Harris to ensure a seamless transfer of power to the new administration. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the presidential transition process, strengthen our democracy, and increase trust in government.
Thank you for sharing your view on this issue with me. Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any future questions or comments. Additionally, if you would like to stay connected to our office with the latest news, legislation, and other useful information, please visit our website, sinema.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Kyrsten Sinema
United States Senator