OKLAHOMA CITY — While a dozen United States Senators, including Oklahoma Senator Lankford, have stated their plans to object when members of Congress meet today to count and confirm the Electoral College votes, the American Civil Liberties Union urges Congress to oppose the efforts led by President Trump to trample the will of the American electorate. The ACLU's position today is consistent with its position after the 2000 election, when it did not support efforts to block Congress from counting Florida's Electoral College votes for George W. Bush, despite disagreement with the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore.
“Senator Lankford, and his colleagues will violate their constitutional oath to protect and defend the Constitution if they wrongly object to properly state-certified electoral votes,” stated Tamya Cox-Touré, ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director. “They will also inflict lasting damage to our republic and to our democratic norms of self-governance. This effort is illegitimate and based on false allegations of voter fraud — a trope used throughout our country’s history to target the voting rights and political power of racial minorities, including Oklahoma’s Black and Brown voters. Despite over 60 legal challenges that were filed to subvert the will of the people, the courts, federal and state, have been unanimous: our legal system cannot be used to steal an election.
Americans have voted — even amidst a pandemic and despite deliberate barriers to the polls. Now, it’s time for members of Congress, including Senator Lankford, to do their job and, in accordance with the Constitution, count the votes for president and vice president that have been certified by the states. Voters — not the courts and not Congress — decide elections.”