Rep. Obernolte statement on electoral count

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2020, U.S. Representative Jay Obernolte (CA-08) released the following statement regarding Wednesday's certification of electoral college results for the 2020 presidential election:

“The 2020 election took place under extremely unusual circumstances due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. While most states properly worked with their legislatures to carry out the election in a safe and secure manner, a select few made significant changes to election processes through unilateral court or executive actions in the last days prior to, or even after, the election. As a state lawmaker, I dealt with this exact issue when Governor Newsom tried to unilaterally change election law through executive order. This is a direct violation of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution which clearly states that only state legislatures have this power with respect to presidential electors.  In the California case, the courts ruled Gov. Newsom had overstepped his authority, and my colleagues and I in the legislature worked to pass bipartisan legislation (AB 860) that addressed safety concerns during the pandemic and ensured a free election.

“Earlier this week I swore an oath to protect and defend our constitution, which is why I will support the objection to electoral college results for states where election practices were changed without the consent of that state’s legislature. This is not a partisan decision, and I will support those objections regardless of which presidential candidate won an affected state.  Ensuring that constitutional rules are followed is critical to protecting the foundations of our democracy.  Our government is by the people and for the people- it is imperative that decisions about our elections are made through constitutional processes and with the input of the people’s elected state legislators.”