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Former Vice President Pence Criticizes the 2020 Election

Published

3 years ago

March 3, 2021

For the first time since leaving his office, former Vice President Mike Pence criticized last year’s election in an op-ed published on Wednesday.

In an op-ed on the Daily Signal, Pence claimed that “significant voting irregularities were present during the 2020 election. He also said there “instances of officials setting aside state election law” happened several times.

On January 6, Pence was one of the targets of some people in the mob that siege the Capitol Building. Regarding this, he said that event robbed the American people of a “substantive discussion” that should have taken place in Congress on the topic of election integrity in the country.

The main topic of Pence’s op-ed, however, is H.R. 1, which is a bill regarding voting rights. The House plans to pass this legislation on Wednesday. However, Pence says it would only allow for more opportunities to commit electoral fraud.

After the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump, along with his allies, has claimed multiple times that fraud had caused him to lose against Biden. Although, state officials in areas considered as battleground states have rejected these ideas. Courts, including the Supreme court, also rejected this idea.

Even the Department of Justice, which was still under Trump’s administration, failed to find evidence of fraud in the presidential election that is serious enough to alter results in any of the questioned states.

These claims of election fraud can be considered a major issue that drove the mob to riot at the Capitol in January. The event endangered the lives of lawmakers in Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, including Pence, as well as everyone working in the building. The said event claimed the lives of five people.

Pence: New Bill to Allow More Instances of Election Fraud

In his op-ed, pence argued that the provisions included in the voting rights bill would step over the First Amendment. He said it will “further erode” the people’s trust in the electoral system. Pence also said it will “forever dilute the votes” of every legally qualified voter.

Democrat lawmakers introduced the said bill. It aims to expand the people’s ability to vote by mail. The bill also requires the establishment of electronic voter legislation in states. Additionally, it would also let the Department of Justice have more authority to enforce voter rights.

The Biden administration has expressed support for the bill. It even cited Trump’s efforts to overturn the results. In a statement, the White House said the new bill is necessary to protect a person’s right to vote and to keep the integrity of the election.

Pence’s op-ed contains the former Vice President’s most extensive commentary since he left his position on Jan. 20. Apart from posting on Twitter, he has remained silent publicly after Biden’s inauguration.

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