WASHINGTON–President Trump’s phone call to Georgia’s secretary of state made Indiana’s Rep. Jim Banks (R) cringe. But, he said it shows why Congress should talk about reforming federal elections, and make states adhere to the Constitution and their own rules.
“I haven’t listened to it fully. I will admit the conversation made me cringe, the bottom line of the conversation of trying to influence the actions at the state level. As a Republican I wish that conversation hadn’t happened,” he said.
LISTEN: Rep. Jim Banks explains his decision to oppose electors.
Banks said he plans not to accept the decisions of electors in some contested states when Congress meets in a joint session to accept the results of the presidential election, Wednesday.
“I will vote to object to states who unconstitutionally ran their elections without the approval of their state legislature, and really Pennsylvania was the poster child.”
Banks said he believes the people in charge of elections in those states changed the rules, allowing mail-in ballots, without the legislature’s involvement, a violation of the law.
That’s why he wants Wednesday’s debate and vote to cause states and Congress to begin talking about reform.
Banks does not believe whatever happens Wednesday, will change the outcome and that Donald Trump would remain president.
“States like Pennsylvania will be so embarrassed that their processes are being exposed, that they’ll demand that their state legislators gather and they’ll demand that never happens again,” he said.
Banks also plans to introduce reforms of his own in the House, Thursday, which would ban all mail-in ballots and ballot harvesting.
Though he believes Congress should have very little authority over or very little to do with state elections, Banks said federal elections are a different story.
“When we’re talkin g about federal elections and elections that determine the electors that appear at the Electoral College, that’s something that Congress should debate and have a say in.”
