Politico is reporting that U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and as many as 10 other House members are planning to contest the validity of Donald Trump’s election on Friday.
A joint session of Congress is set for 1 p.m. ET in which the results of the Electoral College vote are to be certified. It's during that session Jackson Lee will object to the tally of the vote on the grounds of voter suppression and the use of electors who she says may not have been qualified to serve in the Electoral College.
"This is an American question of justice and fairness and the appropriate running of presidential elections," Jackson Lee told Politico.
While having Jackson Lee and 10 other U.S. representatives question the election’s outcome could be jarring, in the end, unless they have a senator join in their protest, the move is meaningless as far as Trump’s election as president is concerned.
Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution allows for the Electoral College to choose the president of the United States, but the Congress must certify the votes in a joint session on Jan. 6 of the year following the November election. If a member of Congress objects to a state's vote count, that member must also have a member of the other legislative body contest the vote along with them.
In other words, Jackson Lee may have as many House members join her as will support her objection, but unless a senator joins them the objection will go nowhere.
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