House Republicans have proposed legislation that would block the counting of electoral votes during the election certification process for states that remove former president and current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, or any other nominee, from the presidential ballot.
After the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) removed Trump from their states’ ballots, many conservative commentators began pointing out that a Republican-controlled House of Representatives could hypothetically refuse to certify the electors for these states and any others who disenfranchise supporters of the likely Republican presidential nominee.
Now, Republican congressmen have done just that — proposing a bill that would prevent the electoral votes of states from being counted if they block the official nominee of a major political party from the ballot.
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced the bill in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“New law… If any state in our Union blocks the official nominee of a major political party from the Presidential ballot, their electoral slate will not be counted by Congress on the following January 6th. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” he wrote.
“Have a very MAGA Christmas,” Clay’s post concluded.
New law… If any state in our Union blocks the official nominee of a major political party from the Presidential ballot, their electoral slate will not be counted by Congress on the following January 6th.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Have a very MAGA Christmas. pic.twitter.com/9ko6Q7wHzi
— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) December 22, 2023
The legislation would amend U.S. Code Title 3 “to include under the Electoral Count Act of 1887 that the vote of an elector of a State shall not be counted if, with respect to the election for President, the State did not include on the ballot in the State a candidate for President who was nominated by a major political party, and for other purposes.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has vowed to propose a similar bill in the Senate.
“Maine’s Democrat Secretary of State just removed Trump from the ballot. This is an egregious abuse of power and why I will be introducing the Constitutional Election Integrity Act as soon as Congress returns to session to stop these partisan officials and ensure any constitutional challenge is only decided by the U.S. Supreme Court,” he wrote in a post on X.
Maine’s Democrat Secretary of State just removed Trump from the ballot. This is an egregious abuse of power and why I will be introducing the Constitutional Election Integrity Act as soon as Congress returns to session to stop these partisan officials and ensure any… https://t.co/evVu6bSv0H
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) December 29, 2023
This news comes as Trump’s legal team has vowed to appeal both Colorado and Maine’s decisions to the Supreme Court, as he was not given due process in their decisions because they disqualified him from the ballot over engaging in a so-called “insurrection” despite the fact that he has not been convicted of any such crime.
