in others. Does it become mandatory or forbidden depending on who is in control of Congress? And, as the leader pointed out, it would be the end of the electoral college. The electoral college is the mechanism by which the people select the President. But if Congress gets to decide which States get to vote in the electoral college, then clearly Congress is electing the President, not the people. Whichever party controls both Houses of Congress would control the Presidency.
The public would never tolerate Congress picking the President instead of themselves, so they would abolish the electoral college, as many of our colleagues would like to do, and the end of the electoral college, of course, means the Nation will be governed by a handful of big blue States and regions that can drum up very large numbers.
Mr. President, the Constitution does not assign to Congress the responsibility to judge the worthiness of State election processes nor its adherence to its rules. That is the responsibility of the States and the courts.
Let me conclude with this. I voted for President Trump. I publicly endorsed President Trump. I campaigned for President Trump. I did not want Joe Biden to win this election. There is something more important to me than having my preferred candidate sworn in as the next President, and that is to have the American people’s chosen candidate sworn in as the next President.
A fundamental defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders. It is now our duty. It is our responsibility to ensure that right is respected in this election and preserved for future elections. I urge you to vote against this objection.
The Vice President. The Democratic leader.
Mr. Schumer. Mr. President, the Senator from the great State of Arizona, Senator Sinema.
The Vice President. The Senator from Arizona.
Ms. Sinema. Thank you, Mr. President.
I rise today to share the facts about Arizona’s recent election and to urge my colleagues to step away from divisive political rhetoric and step towards renewing Americans’ faith in our democracy.
The 2020 Arizona election was a success, not for any one party or individual but as a demonstration of the will of the voters. A record 80 percent of registered voters participated, thanks to local Arizona election officials who ensured our system worked and our laws were upheld. Arizona has offered early voting for more than 100 years, and our vote-by-mail system includes strict safeguards. All ballots include tracking mechanisms and tamper-resistant envelopes. Election staff are trained to authentic signatures. And Arizona imposes severe criminal punishments for ballot tampering.
The Arizona election produced bipartisan results in which members of both parties won races, and these results have been confirmed by stakeholders across the political spectrum.
The Republican chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors said:
No matter how you voted, this election was administered with integrity, transparency, and … in accordance with Arizona State laws.
The Republican speaker of the Arizona State House rejected calls for the legislature to overturn the election, saying:
As a conservative Republican, I don’t like the results of the presidential election … but I cannot and will not entertain a suggestion that we violate current law to change the outcome.
Eight challenges contesting the Arizona election were brought to Federal and State courts. All eight were withdrawn or dismissed, including a unanimous ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court. The chief justice wrote:
[The] challenge fails to present any evidence of “misconduct,” [or] “illegal votes” … let alone establish any degree of fraud or a sufficient error rate that would undermine the certainty of the election results.
During a recent committee hearing, I asked a simple question of the former Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security: Did he find any evidence disputing the integrity or fairness of Arizona’s election? His answer was simple: “No.”
Arizona and our 15 counties should be congratulated for running a secure election. Perhaps the most heartening demonstration of Arizona’s election success is Jocelyn from Phoenix. Jocelyn is 18 years old and was a first-time voter in 2020. So was Rachel from Tucson and thousand more Arizonans who for the first time exercised their constitutional right to decide their own leaders. Today’s challenge to Arizona’s election fails any factual analysis. More disturbingly, it seeks to rob Jocelyn and Rachel and more than 3 million Arizonans of a free, fair election.
Those of us who are trusted with elected office are first and foremost public servants. We serve our constituents. We do not seek to substitute our personal ambitions for the will of the American people. Our system allows for a continuous contest of ideas. And those voters who support the losing side of a free, fair election have not been disenfranchised; rather, they maintain just as important a voice in America’s future. Leaders have a duty to serve all of our constituents, including those who voted for other candidates.
Great leaders in our history faced the choice of whether to take an action strengthening our democracy even if a different action would better serve their political ambitions. Many are revered today because they chose our Republic over their self-interests, including my personal hero, Senator John McCain. Following his Presidential loss, Senator McCain said:
The American people have spoken … Senator Obama and I have … argued our differences, and he has prevailed. … Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans.
He spoke to the nearly 60 million Americans who voted for him, saying:
It is natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.
Senator McCain was right.
Today we have serious, significant work to do beating this pandemic and reviving our economy. I urge my colleagues to follow the example of Senator John McCain and so many others, reject this meritless challenge, and uphold the will of Arizona’s voters.
Thank you.
The Vice President. The majority leader.
Mr. McConnell. Mr. President, I yield up to 5 minutes to the Senator from Oklahoma, Senator Lankford.
The Vice President. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. Lankford. Mr. President, in America, we settle our differences in elections. What happens if you don’t trust the election count or you are concerned that so many courts denied or dismissed cases within hours after they were given thousands of pages of evidence?
The reason we have a Congress to settle our Nation’s divisions and the rules of the Senate make sure that every opinion in the Nation is heard is so issues like this can be addressed.
The constitutional crisis in our country right now is that millions of Americans are being told to sit down and shut up. Their opinions matter.
During the electoral challenge on January 6, 2005, Senator Ted Kennedy stood on this floor and said this. He said:
I commend the many thousands of citizens in Massachusetts and other States who insisted that treating today’s electoral vote count in Congress as a meaningless ritual would be an insult to our democracy unless we register our own protest against the obviously-flawed voting process that took place in so many States. We are hopeful that this major issue that goes to the heart of our democracy is now firmly implanted on the agenda for effective action by … Congress.
I agree. The U.S. Constitution does not allow me to assign different electors to a State, nor should it. The U.S. Constitution does not give the option to the Vice President of the United States to just unilaterally decide which States are in and out, and it should not. Each State decides its electors through its people.
A small group of Senators, including myself, have demanded that we not ignore the questions that millions of people are asking in our Nation, so we have proposed a constitutional solution. Pause the count. Get more facts to the States before January the 20th. We proposed a 15-member commission, just like what was done after the failed election of 1876. We are encouraging people to spend 10 days going through all the issues so States can have one
