Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said Sunday that he will not object during Congress’s counting of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, something at least a dozen GOP senators have said they will do.
Cotton said although he will not challenge the electors during the upcoming Jan. 6 meeting of Congress to count states’ electoral votes and finalize President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump, he will support a commission to study the last election and said that it is the state’s job to challenge the Electoral College, not Congress’ job.
“I share the concerns of many Arkansans about irregularities in the presidential election, especially in states that rushed through election-law changes to relax standards for voting-by-mail. I also share their disappointment with the election results. I therefore support a commission to study the last election and propose reforms to protect the integrity of our elections. And after Republicans win in Georgia, the Senate should also hold more hearings on these matters. All Americans deserve to have confidence in the elections that undergird our free government,” Cotton said in the statement.
Cotton went on to say the American people, through the Electoral College, get to pick the president, not Congress.
“Nevertheless, the Founders entrusted our elections chiefly to the states—not Congress. They entrusted the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College—not Congress. And they entrusted the adjudication of election disputes to the courts—not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states,” he continued.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. stands with his wife Anna Peckham and their two sons Gabriel and Daniel as he participates in a mock swearing-in for the 117th Congress with Vice President Mike Pence in the Old Senate Chambers at the U.S. Capitol Building January 3, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
“Thus, I will not oppose the counting of certified electoral votes on January 6. I’m grateful for what the president accomplished over the past four years, which is why I campaigned vigorously for his reelection. But objecting to certified electoral votes won’t give him a second term—it will only embolden those Democrats who want to erode further our system of constitutional government,” Cotton concluded. (RELATED: Sen. Josh Hawley To Object Electoral College Certification Process On January 6)
There are now at least one dozen Senators who will object during Congress’s counting of the Electoral College vote. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first Senator to make the announcement on Thursday, citing big-tech platforms interference in the election in support of Biden and saying election laws were broken in Pennsylvania.
Eleven Republican senators, led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, announced Saturday that they would also object to the certification of states’ Electoral College votes when Congress meets on Jan. 6. (RELATED: 11 Republican Senators – Led By Ted Cruz – Will Object To Electoral College Certification)
Along with Hawley and Cruz, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, all released a joint statement Saturday explaining why they would object.
Wyoming’s Cynthia Lummis, Kansas’s Roger Marshall, Tennessee’s Bill Haggerty and Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville, all signed on before being sworn in Sunday as Senators.