Press Releases

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Rep. French Hill (AR-02) released the following video about today’s scheduled proceedings regarding the Joint Session of Congress to meet and count the Electoral College votes.

A transcript of Rep. Hill's message is copied below:

I want to share with you my thoughts on the Constitutional obligation of the Joint Session of Congress to meet and count the Electoral College votes scheduled for today.

Since the election, discrepancies regarding the validity of the results have been widely publicized. The hasty and incautious manner in which mail-in ballot systems were adopted created an opportunity for inaccuracy when guaranteeing that legitimate votes were cast and counted. Like most Americans, I believe that our election system was under unprecedented strain, and alongside individual states, Congress has a role to play to secure the integrity of our election system.

Americans deserve to have full confidence in their elections. And that’s why I support a commission to review the November election results, assess procedures and irregularities, and make recommendations to the states for reform. Our wise founders designed our Constitution to balance power and diffuse power by giving the authority over federal elections and the selection of electors to the states.

The Framers specifically desired that the president and the vice president be independent of the Legislative Branch.

The House and Senate will convene in a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes and certify the presidential election. This minimal constitutional authority is granted in Article II of and the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This section’s primary purpose is to ensure that the votes “shall be counted” but does not give Congress the authority to function as a court to determine any given election results. Should an objection be made to a state’s electors by a Senator and a member of the House, a debate will occur in that state and around it. And as it arises, I look forward to considering that debate. Objections contemplated by the Electoral Count Act were initially for a failed elector or a competing slate of electors from the same state. However, the Constitution in no way provides Congress the power to overturn the results of a properly state-certified presidential election.

Let’s be clear. I campaigned for President Trump and Vice President Pence. I’ve supported the president’s policies and efforts to bring prosperity to the people of Arkansas and individuals all across our nation. And I wanted them to continue for another four years the work of the past four in improving our national security and economic opportunities for individuals and families. And, I supported all the president’s efforts to identify and obtain changes in the 2020 vote counts following the election. But despite 60 state and federal court cases, no changes were ordered, and all 50 states have completed their counts, recounts and they’ve certified the Electoral College results.

The Founding Fathers were clear in the Constitution that states have the responsibility for choosing electors – not members of Congress. I intend to certify the election results Wednesday. This is my Constitutional duty. I’ve sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution and I’ll continue to do that as long as I serve our families, the men, and women of central Arkansas. And with my colleagues, I’ll fight for a thorough investigation of the voting practices and irregularities in the 2020 election.