Call to Action: Request Members of Congress Publicly Acknowledge Biden as President-Elect and Accept the Results of the Election
Election Day 2020 is over. Investigations have found this to be the “most secure” election in American history. Joseph Biden is now the presumed president-elect, having won both the popular vote (by more than 7 million votes) and the electoral college (with 306 votes).
However, the outgoing president refuses to concede. This action is unprecedented, particularly given the overwhelming nature of the defeat. In a speech from the White House on Wednesday, December 2, Trump yet again called the election “rigged” and argued that “the results of the individual swing states must be overturned and overturned immediately.”
Yet Attorney General William Barr has stated that the Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud “that could have effected a different outcome of the 2020 election.” Moreover, all six states where Trump mounted legal challenges have now certified their results. In addition to the “meeting of the electors” on December 14, Congress will also meet on January 6 in a joint session to accept the Electoral College’s vote. Under federal law, any lawmaker can join with a companion from the other chamber to raise an objection to any state’s votes. This would prompt a debate and subsequent vote in each chamber on whether to accept the challenge. “But no senator has publicly entertained joining the effort, and on Wednesday, several key Republican senators dismissed the possibility that the Senate would reject electoral votes or even join a House member’s challenge.”
The delay must not continue. It is time to concede. Our members of Congress must support the democratic process and the will of the people by acknowledging Biden as the president-elect. They must publicly state, ahead of the January 6 joint session, that the elections were secure and that it is time for all to accept the will of the American people.
A secure election and then a peaceful transition of power are part of our legacy as a democracy, and both should be protected and celebrated.
To do:
Contact your members of Congress and request that they publicly acknowledge Joe Biden as president-elect, recognize the validity of our election, and commit to accepting the electoral college votes in the joint session in January. In less than five minutes, you can submit a letter to all of your elected representatives at once via our website. You can write and submit your own letter by going HERE.
Background:
Election Day 2020 is over, and Joseph R. Biden Jr. is the president-elect, chosen by a margin of more than 7 million votes (81,255,933 for Biden to 74,196,153 for Trump as of December 5, 2020) and 306 electoral votes. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a broad coalition of top government and industry officials, declared that the Nov. 3 voting and the following count constituted “the most secure in American history.” American voters, particularly voters of color, embraced their civic duties and made their voices heard despite the complications of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, in spite of this decisive defeat, the outgoing president refuses to concede, and many in his party are unwilling to confront him. In a speech from the White House on Wednesday, December 2, Trump yet again called the election “rigged” and argued that “the results of the individual swing states must be overturned and overturned immediately.”
Yet Attorney General William Barr has stated that the Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud “that could have effected a different outcome of the 2020 election.” Moreover, all six states where Trump mounted legal challenges have now certified their results. In addition to the “meeting of the electors” on December 14, Congress will also meet on January 6 in a joint session to accept the Electoral College’s vote. Under federal law, any lawmaker can join with a companion from the other chamber to raise an objection to any state’s votes. This would prompt a debate and votes in each chamber on whether to accept the challenge. “But no senator has publicly entertained joining the effort, and on Wednesday, several key Republican senators dismissed the possibility that the Senate would reject electoral votes or even join a House member’s challenge.”
As members of Congress, our elected representatives should be the first to defend our electoral processes. By refusing to hold the leader of one party to account, they discount the central tenet of democracy — legitimate elections. It “denigrates and erodes the electoral system so carefully crafted for more than 200 years,” discounts the individual voices of citizens, and seeks to disenfranchise communities of color.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” The GOP’s silence as Trump continues to make erroneous claims of election fraud speaks volumes. So let’s ask our members of Congress to publicly acknowledge the president-elect and express support for our democratic process. Both a secure election and then a peaceful transition of power are part of our legacy as a democracy and should be protected and celebrated. You can find out which Republican leaders have acknowledged Biden as president-elect. Because your legislators may have acted differently and you will write one single letter that goes to all three, you may wish to include language such as, “If you have spoken out, thank you. If you have not spoken out with clarity, you need to do so now.” Urge them to defend the results of our democracy at work.
