Coming Out Happy on January 6th, on the Hill
by Mary W Maxwell, LLB

There is a way to resolve the election crisis that does not, on the one hand, violate the Constitution, or, on the other hand, leave the public with the chaos-engendering idea that “anything goes.” A 1948 statute, codified at 3 USC 15, tells Congress what to do on January 6, 2021.

The ballots arrive ceremoniously on January 6, 2021 and will be opened by the president of the Senate, Mike Pence, in front of a joint meeting of Congress. They will be counted and recorded by four tellers, and handed to Pence who reads them out.

Pence is then obliged to ask if there are objections. We already know there will be some. The procedure is for at least one Rep and at least one senator to write a concise complaint regarding any disputed state’s package of ballots. The senators then withdraw to their own chamber.

Each chamber votes. They have only two hours to work on each dispute. A majority of those present and voting will determine that chamber’s decision. Let’s say the state in question is New Hampshire. Let’s say the senate votes to reject the NH ballots, but the House votes to accept. That rejection is null and void, as it takes two to tango.

If both chambers reject New Hampshire’s 4 ballots – for whatever reason -- that state’s 4 will not go into the tally. Thus, the final United States count of 538 electors will be reduced to 534.

After the November general election, Biden had 306 electoral votes and Trump had 232. Rejecting New Hampshire’s 4, which were for Biden, would reduce Biden’s count to 302, still plenty for him to become president.

I chose New Hampshire as the example because it’s my state – no dispute is expected. Two states that Congress may decide to reject are Georgia – 16 ballots, and Pennsylvania – 20. If those 36 are taken away from Biden’s 306 he will still end up with 270. That is the magic number. His wife can buy an Inaugural dress at that point.

It is unlikely that both the House of Reps and the Senate will reject more than 36, making Biden fall below the 270, But let’s say it falls to 267 if Wyoming’s 3 were also rejected. And let’s say that Trump’s initial figure of 232 got raised to 255. Does that mean that Biden is president because his 267 is greater than Trump’s 255?

No. Constitutional Amendment 12 would then kick in. It says if no one got a majority of electoral votes, i.e., 270, the House must look at the top three names (I wish a dark horse had been named by some elector, but apparently only the names of Trump and Biden appear).

You may jump to the conclusion that the House, which has a Democrat majority, is going to give the presidency to Biden. But, per Amendment 12, it won’t be done by a majority of the House’s 435 members. Rather, each state gets one vote. Today 31 of the states have a majority of Republicans in their Congressional delegation.

It seems Trump would win, though I hate to act as if nothing but party membership should control the vote. It has been disgusting to read media statements and legislator’s statements that show no interest in getting the vote to be fair – all chatter is about getting one’s pet candidate to win.

Note: If the House does vote Trump in, the Senate separately, on January 6, has to look at the two top vice presidential elector’s ballots. Again, pretend it’s 267 for Harris and 255 for Pence. There are only 98 US senators, I think (unless the Georgia special election of January 5th is able to get two persons to the Hill pronto). The empty desks were Republican. Thus the vote for Harris or Pence could be tied, 49-49.

Pence would be asked to break the tie. Imagine if he voted “Harris.” We need a bit of humor, don’t we?

There is another option to this whole mess. Congress could invoke the 20th amendment. I‘ll quote it here:

“If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term [January 20th], or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify [say he turns out to be less than 35 years old], then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President [how about Sidney Powell?], or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.”

See? The US Constitution does not have loose ends. All contingencies are provided for.

For people who are in high distress about this election, please note that the presidency is not all that important. Our laws are made by Congress; the White House is over-dramatized. Also note that if a disastrous person becomes president he or she can be impeached right out the door.

Also it should be noted that the US Supreme Court still has three days to deal with any appeals that are before it. I think the most encouraging quote comes from a ruling in the 1934 case of Burroughs v United States, which had to do with bribery:

“To say that Congress is without power to pass appropriate legislation to safeguard. such an election ... is to deny to the nation in a vital particular the power of self-protection. Congress, undoubtedly, possesses that power, as it possesses every other power essential to preserve the departments and institutions of the general government from impairment or destruction, whether threatened by force or by corruption."

Personally, I give high marks to Mike Flynn (whose DIA and army work I do not know of) for his attempts to unearth the fraud of the 2020 election. In the video below, we see the Georgia state senate holding hearings to deal with the blatant cheating that occurred in at least one county, Fulton.

Please start by watching the end of the following video, where Ms Grubbs, a citizen, shows a shredding truck taking ballot envelopes from Georgia’s store of November votes. You will be amazed at how any politician has dared to say “There is no evidence.” (Per TheHill.com, Mitt Romney considers the plan to challenge election an “egregious ploy that dangerously threatens the country.”)

Start at 2 hours 45 minutes, on this tape, and just watch for 5 minutes. This is Ms Grubbs’ testimony:

https://youtu.be/EjbAFuoQOvo

Below is a link to the 270 pages of evidence collected by attorney (and former US prosecutor) Sidney Powell.

Mary Maxwell, PhD, LLB was on the Republican ballot in the 2020 NH presidential primary. She is the author of Grass Court: How To Use Law To Deal with the Pandemic. Mary's website is ConstitutionAndTruth.com.