How NC’s delegation in Congress voted on objections to election certification
Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election early Thursday, concluding its count hours after a pro-Donald Trump mob breached the Capitol, forcing the evacuation of elected officials and leaving four dead.
The violence stopped congressional action for more than six hours as law enforcement regained control of the building and then did security sweeps. The Senate and House were debating objections to Arizona’s electoral votes at the time.
When the chambers reconvened Wednesday evening, each held a vote on the objections to Arizona’s results. The Senate rejected the objections 93-6, while the House opposed them 303-121. Five members of North Carolina’s delegation voted to support the objection.
Members of the House also objected to the votes from Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, but no senator objected to those states as is required to force two hours of debate and a full vote.
For Pennsylvania, however, there were objections from a representative and a senator, leading to a vote in the Senate and another debate in the House.
The Senate, without any debate, rejected the objections 92-7. The House, voting at 3 a.m., rejected the objections 282-138. Seven members of North Carolina’s delegation voted to support the objection.
“I will not let a violent mob stop me from giving voice to the thousands of North Carolinians who demanded a debate on the irregularities & Constitutional violations in the presidential election,” Rep. Ted Budd, a Davie County Republican, wrote on Twitter, with video of his debate against counting Pennsylvania’s electors.
Representatives also objected to the certification of Wisconsin’s electoral votes, but no senator joined in, which is needed for a valid objection.
Budd was among the first of North Carolina’s delegation to announce he would object to results in some states and wrote a letter to the rest of the delegation asking that other members join him.
Before the vote, seven of North Carolina’s eight Republican U.S. House members said they would object to at least one state, while Sens. Richard Burr, Thom Tillis and Rep. Patrick McHenry said they would vote to certify the results.
Biden won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232.
“I am hopeful that this horrible day — and it’s a horrible day, not just a day but a horrible marker in our history — will make people realize this is not a game. We’re talking about people’s lives,” said first-term Rep. Deborah Ross, a Wake County Democrat. “We have people being foreclosed on or with food insecurity or both. And we have to go get about doing the business of the American people.”
Here’s how North Carolina’s 15-member delegation voted on the objections:
ARIZONA
Voted to agree with the objections (5):
Rep. Dan Bishop (R)
Rep. Ted Budd (R)
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R)
Rep. Richard Hudson (R)
Rep. David Rouzer (R)
Voted not to agree with the objections (10):
Rep. Alma Adams (D)
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R)
Rep. Kathy Manning (D)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R)
Rep. Greg Murphy (R)
Rep. David Price (D)
Rep. Deborah Ross (D)
Sen. Richard Burr (R)
Sen. Thom Tillis (R)
PENNSYLVANIA
Voted to agree with the objections (7):
Rep. Dan Bishop (R)
Rep. Ted Budd (R)
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R)
Rep. Richard Hudson (R)
Rep. Greg Murphy (R)
Rep. David Rouzer (R)
Voted not to agree with the objections (8):
Rep. Alma Adams (D)
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D)
Rep. Kathy Manning (D)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R)
Rep. David Price (D)
Rep. Deborah Ross (D)
Sen. Richard Burr (R)
Sen. Thom Tillis (R)
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This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 12:34 AM with the headline "How NC’s delegation in Congress voted on objections to election certification."
