Last updated on March 5th, 2021 at 03:28 am
Former Vice President Mike Pence has issued his first public remarks about the 2020 general election, accusing Democrats of ignoring “valid reforms and concerns” regarding the election despite there being no evidence that election fraud took place.
“After an election marked by significant voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law, I share the concerns of millions of Americans about the integrity of the 2020 election,” Pence wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Signal.
Pence also commented on the Capitol insurrection of January 6, which took place after groups of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the United States Capitol in a bid to overturn the results of an election President Joe Biden won decisively.
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“The tragic events of Jan. 6—the most significant being the loss of life and violence at our nation’s Capitol—also deprived the American people of a substantive discussion in Congress about election integrity in America,” he said.
Pence went on to accuse Democrats of ignoring the concerns of Republicans who have bought into the former president’s lies about the election.
“While legislators in many states have begun work on election reform to restore public confidence in state elections, unfortunately, congressional Democrats have chosen to sweep those valid concerns and reforms aside and to push forward a brazen attempt to nationalize elections in blatant disregard of the U.S. Constitution,” he said.
The former vice president voiced his opposition to the For the People Act, legislation introduced by Democrats that would expand opportunities to vote by mail, require that states establish electronic voter legislation, and empower the Department of Justice to enforce voting rights law.
Without offering evidence, Pence said the bill “would increase opportunities for election fraud, trample the First Amendment, further erode confidence in our elections, and forever dilute the votes of legally qualified eligible voters.”
The For the People Act has the support of the White House, which said in a statement Monday that “this landmark legislation is urgently needed to protect the right to vote and the integrity of our elections, and to repair and strengthen American democracy.”
Pence says election reform should remain at the state level. “Our Founders limited Congress’ role in conducting our elections for good reason: They wanted elections to be administered closest to the people, free from undue influence of the national government,” he wrote.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
