East Bay Congresswoman objects to certify Trump's electoral votes
WASHINGTON (KTVU) - Three Democratic members of Congress, including East Bay Representative Barbara Lee, challenged the electoral college victory certification for President-elect Donald Trump.
On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden called for order as Congress certified the victory amongst a ruckus and the Democrats failed to gather support in their objections.
The congresswoman posted the following note on her Facebook page:
Why I’m Objecting to the Certification of the Electoral College Votes
Congress is convening for a joint session to certify the votes of the electoral college. Given the deeply troubling incidents of disenfranchisement and the overwhelming evidence of Russian interference, I am challenging the electoral vote certification.
During this presidential cycle, hundreds of thousands of voters – primarily voters of color – were disenfranchised before and on election day. In Detroit, 87 voting machines in predominantly African-American districts malfunctioned. In North Carolina, Republican-controlled election boards cut hours and closed polling locations in communities of color, forcing voters to wait hours in line to cast their ballots.
The use of malfunctioning voting machines, the restriction of provisional ballots, the improper purging of voter rolls, and the widely reported incidents of intimidation and misinformation at the polls are clear evidence of widespread voter suppression designed to restrict the vote among people of color, low-income voters, students and seniors.
Additionally, I am gravely concerned by evidence of intelligence officials showing Russia interfered with our election. History has shown us that democracy is fragile. It is our duty as members of Congress to protect the integrity of our electoral process from foreign actors seeking to influence the results.
The people of the 13th Congressional district elected me to speak for them in Congress. In the face of widespread disenfranchisement and reports of Russian interference with our election, I must object to the certification of the electoral votes.