Ask Mr. Constitution

Dear Mr. Constitution:

Question: Yes or No – Did former Vice President Mike Pence have the Constitutional authority to stop the 2020 election certification?

Answer: In a word: No. Election certification belongs to the Electors – the Electoral College. Certification is not accomplished by any one person in government. The President, the Vice President, Congress, judges – none of them certify the election. The certification is by the Electors themselves when they count their state votes, seal the envelope, and then send it to the President of the Senate. So, the Electors certify, but only the state legislature can decertify if they believe there is a problem.

It’s up to the state legislatures to determine if the electoral votes were on the up and up. And we had lawsuits, remember? Texas was suing other states essentially saying: “Your electoral votes were not on the up and up, we’re suing you because you didn’t do your job.”

The 10th Amendment says that if the state is not doing its job, then the people step in – they demand a recount and/or a re-do. That’s what Jan. 6 was about. Most of the Jan. 6 people were following the 10th Amendment and the 1st Amendment. A lot of them were praying: freedom of religion; a lot of them were speaking up: freedom of speech; a lot of them were podcasting: freedom of the press; they were gathering together: freedom of assembly; many were petitioning the government for redress of grievances. Instead of being recognized as citizens exercising their Constitutional rights, they have been erroneously labeled “insurrectionists.”

Douglas V. Gibbs, Mr. Constitution

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Gibbs’s Current Events & Constitution Class meets in Fallbrook every Tuesday, 11 a.m. to noon at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 911 E. Elder Street.

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