Yes, I will Vote to Certify Trump If He Wins
...and Colorado Republicans should say the same about Harris
January 6, 2021 was my first full day in the Senate. I saw just how close we came to losing it all. I saw senators, elected by Americans to uphold the Constitution, abandon their duty. At best, they did it to satisfy Trump’s ego, at worst they were trying to overrule Americans and force the result they wanted. But that’s not our job. Our job as Members of Congress is to certify the election results. Period. It’s indefensible for any elected official to tell you otherwise. I’ll commit right now to certifying the election no matter who wins. Elected Republicans should do the same.
The Constitution is clear on our role. Article II Section 1 Clause 31 reads:
The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President.
That’s it. It doesn’t say we get to choose the president if we don’t like the result. It doesn’t say we get to override the results of an election. We sit there and verify the count.
If the Constitution seems a bit vague on this to you, don’t worry. Congress came together in a bipartisan effort to clear up any misconception about the role – or lack thereof – Congress plays here. The Electoral Count Act was signed into law in December of 20222.
But what if there are legitimate concerns about voter fraud or other illegal activity?
Like any good democracy we have a system in place to make sure this election is secure, investigate all fraud claims, and ensure we have accurate results. Anyone making claims of fraud or wrongdoing should immediately contact law enforcement so they can be investigated. Yet, the loudest voices often fail to report any real evidence of fraud—likely because they made it up to avoid simply admitting they lost. In 2020, fraud claims repeatedly came up empty when it was time to stop tweeting and start showing evidence.3
All of that happens long before January and long before Congress plays its role. In fact, it doesn’t even take place in Congress; it’s largely left up to our court system.
Unfortunately, Representative Lauren Boebert doesn’t agree. She recently said she wouldn’t commit to certifying the election until it’s over.4 I hate to break it to her, but she already committed to certifying when she took her oath of office and swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States …and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”5 Call me old-fashioned, but I remember when someone’s word meant something.
As Biden put it, “You can’t love your country only when you win.” You can’t be a patriot and say you need to see who won the election before saying it was fair. Even worse, it’s just plain whiney. Like the kid who takes their ball home if you don’t let them win.
So, yes. If Donald Trump wins the election next week, I will do my job as a Member of Congress and certify the results. Our democracy is more important than any one election or person. And our loyalty has to be to our system of government and our Constitution over our own personal ambitions or party loyalties.
I don’t expect a pat on the back for this, it’s the bare minimum any elected official owes you: a commitment to doing the job you elected them to do. I hope you hold me and every other federally elected official in Colorado to it.
