US Senate Democrats slam Republican Senators for opposing Electoral College results

US Senate Democrats on Saturday criticised 11 Republican Senators, who announced that they would oppose the Electoral College results of the presidential elections on Wednesday, when the Congress convenes in a joint session to formally count the vote.

According to The Hill, a group of Republican Senators consisting of Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn and Mike Braun and Senators-elect Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Bill Hagerty and Tommy Tuberville said in a joint statement that they will vote against accepting the election results until there is a 10-day audit.

In response, a number of Democrats said that the group was undermining the electoral process by voting against the results, which confirmed the victory of President-elect Joe Biden over incumbent President Donald Trump.

"It is a sad and tragic day for our country that 140 members of the House of Representatives, 13 senators and a defeated president are attempting to undermine American democracy and our Constitution. They will not succeed," tweeted Senator Bernie Sanders.

"Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th, and no publicity stunt will change that.... For a group of my Republican colleagues to claim that they want an additional federal 'commission' to supersede state certifications when the votes have already been counted, recounted, litigated, and state-certified, amounts to nothing more than an attempt to subvert the will of the voters," The Hill quoted Senator Amy Klobuchar in a statement issued on Saturday.

"This pathetic, opportunistic stunt is an attack on our democracy. It's un-American & unconscionable. Votes have been counted, recounted, certified, & all challenges totally discredited. Time to govern & get things done," said Senator Richard Blumenthal in a tweet.

On Saturday, the GOP senators called on the US Congress in a joint statement, to appoint an Electoral Commission to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in disputed states.

The Republican senators also said that a "fair and credible" audit-conducted expeditiously and completed well before January 20" would dramatically improve Americans' faith in our electoral process and would significantly enhance the legitimacy of whoever becomes our next President."

"Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states," they said.

Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission's findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed, the joint statement read further.

"Accordingly, we intend to vote on January 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not 'regularly given' and 'lawfully certified' (the statutory requisite), unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed," they added.

Meanwhile, Members of Republican leadership such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Whip John Thune have urged their colleagues to refrain from challenging the Electoral College results, reported The Hill.

Biden was confirmed the winner of the November presidential election by the Electoral College on December 14 after all 50 states officially certified the voting results. According to official results, Biden collected 306 electoral votes as opposed to 232 votes cast for Trump.

The US Congress will meet in the joint session on January 6 to confirm the Electoral College votes, with Vice President Mike Pence presiding over the session to count the votes from each state.

Biden's inauguration is scheduled for January 20.

(ANI)

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