Lilibet
Southern Oregon
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2013
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I think he also realizes that Kennedy did the same thing in 1960 in Hawaii and it didn't result in indictments or anything at all. This story appeared in Politico months ago and the media has thoroughly covered it.
JMO
See the 1960 Electoral College certificates that the false Trump electors say justify their gambit
Their explanation relied heavily on the 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, who was vice president at the time.www.politico.com
...Until now, it’s been unclear whether the 1960 case of the Kennedy electors was truly analogous to 2020 Trump electors. But the unofficial Democratic certificates, obtained by POLITICO from the non-digitized files of the National Archives, show the three Kennedy electors signed documents that are remarkably similar to the false Trump-elector certificates.
The certificates describe the three Democrats as the “duly and legally appointed and qualified” members of the Electoral College. The envelope containing the certificates, stamped Dec. 22, 1960, includes another avowal: “We hereby certify that the lists of all the votes of the state of Hawaii given for president … are contained herein.”
The documents do not mention the ongoing recount or that Nixon’s Hawaii victory had been certified.
Instead, the Hawaii Democrats used virtually the same language that the false Trump electors in five states used in their effort to upend the 2020 race. In those documents — from Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia — the pro-Turmp activists described themselves as “duly elected and qualified.” In two other states, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, Trump allies submitted alternative elector slates but included a caveat: their votes would only be counted if ongoing court battles broke in favor of Trump.
This link goes into exhaustive (and exhausting) detail about the recounts in Hawaii in 1960. I think there may be a few more details to supplement the great info from @IzzyBlanche. The point to all this is that the situation in 1960 was quite different from 2020 and I don’t see how defense attorneys can make a comparison that will work.
JMO
<snipped lots of detail>
Kennedy's Lead Grows to 96 - Full Recount Ordered
On the day before the electors were set to vote, Kennedy's lead in the Hawaii recount of 95 1/2 precincts had risen to 96 votes. Kennedy had gained a total of 237 votes since the beginning of the recount. As a result, Circuit Judge Ronald B. Jamieson ordered a recount of all the state's 240 precincts.
The Electors Vote Twice
Hawaii then cast two sets of electoral votes. The three Republican electors entered special voting booths in the plush throne room of the Iolani Palace and cast ballots for the Nixon-Lodge ticket. They were followed by the three Democrats who voted for Kennedy and Johnson on the basis of a partial recount showing Kennedy in the lead.
Some Republicans suggested that the voting booths be removed before the Democrats could vote, but the Lieutenant Governor's office allowed the booths to remain. Removing them would have made no technical difference.
If the full recount gave Kennedy the state, it would be up to Congress to decide who is entitled to Hawaii's three electoral votes. That is because Governor Quinn could not issue new certificates of election since the deadline had passed.
<snipped lots of recounting>
The Judge's Ruling
Circuit Judge Ronald B. Jamieson then ruled that John F. Kennedy won the election in Hawaii by a 115 vote margin. The ruling was made an official part of the record which the Democrats sent to Congress.
Senator Oren F. Long and Representative Daniel K. Inouye would present the Democratic argument for certification of Kennedy as the winner of Hawaii's first presidential election.
Nixon Adds Hawaii's 3 Electoral Votes To Kennedy's Column
On Friday, January 6, 1961, the electoral votes were tallied by roll-call in a joint session of Congress with Vice-President Richard M. Nixon presiding.
The roll-call went smoothly until Hawaii was reached. There were three sets of documents for Hawaii, which finally went to Kennedy after the official recount which had not been completed when the electors met in Honolulu on December 19th.
The tellers tossed that problem into Nixon's lap, and the Vice-President held without opposition that the latest document, dated January 4 and certifying the Kennedy electors, was the one that should be counted.
That made the presidential tally 303 for Kennedy, 219 for Nixon and 15 for Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia.
The outgoing Vice-President presided over the joint session under a constitutional provision that requires Congress to canvass the electoral votes. The votes actually were cast on December 19 by the electors of the 50 states.
Hawaii's vote was originally certified for Nixon, who held a 141 vote margin before a recount swung the state to Kennedy by 115 votes.
Objections Not Necessary
Hawaii's Democratic Senator Oren E. Long and Democratic Representative Daniel K. Inouye had laid plans to object to the count of the Nixon certificate, based on the original island vote count, if it was made official.
Long and Inouye came to the joint session carrying folders of documents to support their pro-Kennedy arguments, and Hawaii's Republican Senator Hiram L. Fong said he would not dispute the Kennedy vote.
When the joint session convened, Inouye seated himself in front of a microphone, opened his folder and motioned to his colleagues that he was prepared to present his objection.
When Nixon came to Hawaii in the state-by-state roll call, Long also opened his folder containing the Kennedy certificate and showed the impressive document to his fellow Senators.
The certificate that Nixon honored - thereby making Long's and Inouye's objection unnecessary - was mailed from Hawaii Wednesday night.
Governor William F. Quinn, a Republican, signed a certificate on Wednesday, January 4, accepting the Democratic electors and urging Congress to accept the Democratic victory when it counted the presidential votes on Friday January 6th.
The certificates reached Washington only hours before Congress convened.
When Hawaii was called, the certificates casting the state's votes for Nixon were presented, followed by those for Kennedy and the affidavit from Governor Quinn.
If there was objection to accepting the Democratic vote, Senator Oren E. Long and Congressman Daniel K. Inouye were ready to start a floor fight.
But Vice-President Nixon ruled that to expedite the count and with no desire to set a precedent, he would accept the votes of the Democratic electors from Hawaii.
And that’s why Nixon was able to come back eight years later to be elected president.
The passage of these state laws and the attempted interference by congress in judicial proceedings is setting an extremely dangerous precedent. The Founding Fathers would be horrified!
