Congress early Thursday certified the U.S. Electoral College vote for Joe Biden in an election shadowed by a series of allegations of irregularities and election fraud.

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In a tally read by Vice President Mike Pence, Biden garnered 306 electoral votes while President Donald Trump won 232. The joint session of Congress concluded following a tumultuous Wednesday afternoon, where a group of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were debating whether to reject votes for Arizona. . . .

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” Trump said in his statement. . . .

Republican lawmakers succeeded in launching objections to electoral tallies from Arizona and Pennsylvania, forcing both houses of Congress to retreat to their respective chambers in order to debate the reasons for objecting to the votes. But both chambers ultimately voted to reject the challenge for both states.

For the Arizona votes, the Senate overwhelmingly voted 93-6 against challenging the votes, while the House voted 303-121. Similarly, for Pennsylvania, the Senate voted 92-7 against the objection, while the House voted 282-138. . . .

WATCH THE VIDEO OF CONGRESS CERTIFYING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE RESULTS HERE

Day of Challenges

Prior to the day’s proceedings, almost 90 Republican House members and 13 senators said they were committed to challenging the votes in order to protect the integrity of future elections, according to a tally by The Epoch Times. Several dozen lawmakers were also opposed to challenging the electoral votes, including top Republican leaders Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

But following the building breach, which left four protesters dead and over a dozen police officers injured, several lawmakers announced that they would drop their plans to challenge the electoral votes, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who was the key senator leading the objection in Georgia. . . .

During the joint session of Congress, House members raised objections to electoral votes in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin but their challenges could not be accepted by Pence as they did not have the support from a senator, rendering them largely symbolic.

What is usually considered a formality became a focal point for America after the counting session took on heightened significance due to concerns over the integrity of the 2020 election. Seven states sent two sets of certificates to Washington—one for Biden and one for Trump—but only the certificates for Biden were certified by state officials, and state legislatures have been out of session over the holidays, unable to debate the votes. . . .

Although a slew of evidence was released in recent weeks in the form of sworn affidavits and expert testimony, the claims were repeatedly denied by leading election officials and lawmakers. Critics and members of the media have also characterized the claims as “baseless.”

Meanwhile, a large proportion of cases filed by the Trump campaign and his allies have been thrown out by judges for procedural reasons, including by the U.S. Supreme Court. Judges in several cases have also said that they have not been convinced by the allegations brought forward by Trump’s team. . . .

Pence’s role was heavily debated in recent days, with many critics asserting that his role is simply ministerial in that he only has the ability to count the votes even if he had concerns over their validity.

In a letter to Congress on Wednesday, Pence said he believes the Constitution “constrains” him from “claiming unilateral authority” to make decisions about rejecting or accepting votes even if he has concerns about election integrity.

Instead, he said that when disputes about elections arise, it is the responsibility of the “people’s representatives who review the evidence and resolve disputes through democratic process.”

“Vesting the Vice President with unilateral authority to decide presidential contests would be entirely antithetical to that design,” he said in a letter to Congress. . . .

(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Article by Janita Kan. Photo Credit: Getty Images.)

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