The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 7 rejected an emergency petition filed by Republican congressman Louie Gohmert. Gohmert had asked the Supreme Court to rule that Vice President Mike Pence could reject a state electoral vote challenge by a Republican congressman and that President Trump could be re-elected through this route.
The Supreme Court denied the Gohmert v. Pence emergency petition at 1 p.m. on July 7, nine hours after Congress officially certified Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president. A joint session of Congress was suspended for several hours midway through the 6th because the Capitol was overrun.
The emergency petition was handled by Justice Samuel Alito and then referred to the full court, whose members denied the petition. In keeping with the practice of dismissing emergency petitions, the Supreme Court does not interpret the results of its decisions. No judge filed a dissenting opinion.
Gohmert and other plaintiffs filed the emergency complaint with the federal Supreme Court on the afternoon of June 6, while Congress was considering objections from Republican lawmakers to some state electoral votes. Earlier, President Trump and his campaign accused the swing states in question of alleged electoral irregularities that led to the election results being changed.
The case was dismissed by the district court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals before Gohmert filed an emergency complaint with the federal Supreme Court.
Under the Electoral Count Act of 1887, much of the responsibility for resolving presidential election disputes has been delegated to the states. If a state complies with the statute’s “safe harbor provision” and the governor properly submits the state’s electoral votes, then the decision is final. Congress may reject an electoral vote only if a particular problem arises or if the electoral vote is not properly submitted.
Under the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, the vice president, as president of the Senate, will open the envelope containing each state’s electoral votes, give it to the tellers, and lead the counting process.
Pence issued a statement before a joint session of Congress on the 6th that he did not believe he had the authority to unilaterally reject electoral votes.
Gohmert and other plaintiffs say some provisions of the “Electoral Counting Act” are unconstitutional and limit Pence’s autonomy to reject electoral votes.
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