GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida on Sunday asserted that the greatest threat to a fair election is jurisdictions disregarding state election laws—a concern distinct from fraud. CNN’s Dana Bash described this as a “loophole” in response to her question about whether Congressional Republicans would accept the election results, but Donalds correctly reminded her that it’s a matter of “state law.”
SEE TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
Here’s a transcript of the exchange, per RealClearPolitics:
DANA BASH, CNN: Congressman, before I let you go, I do want to ask about a law that Congress passed, a new version of the Electoral Count Act. They passed it two years ago, and it makes it harder to object to certifying election results on January 6, 2025 and beyond.
Some Trump allies have argued that’s unconstitutional. The House speaker hasn’t taken a clear position. Should Congress follow that law in certifying the 2024 presidential election?
REP. BYRON DONALDS: Look, I think, when you’re talking about the election this November, the thing people want is that local jurisdictions follow the law passed by the states.
As long as everybody does that, there’s not going to be any problem certifying this election this November. But what really matters about this election are the issues facing the American people, not the Electoral College Count Act, because what we need is a president who’s going to secure our border, actually make our foreign policy be strong again and make sense again. That’s what matters.
BASH: Right. But my question is, are you going to follow the new law? Are you going to follow the new law about certifying the election?
DONALDS: As long — and I have been very clear, Dana. As long as states and jurisdictions follow election procedures in their states, there will be no problem for me or anybody on Capitol Hill.
BASH: All right, well, that’s a giant loophole that you’re leaving there, which — there’s no evidence that that has not happened. It didn’t happen in 2020.
DONALDS: That’s not a loophole. That’s actually not a loophole, Dana, and if you look at what happened in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and other jurisdictions…
BASH: There’s absolutely — Congressman…
DONALDS: … in 2020, they did not follow election procedures passed by the state legislature. That’s an empirical fact.
BASH: There is no evidence of widespread fraud. That went through, what, 60 court cases, and even Bill Barr, the former president…
DONALDS: Dana, I did not say fraud. You said fraud. What I’m talking about — and if you want to talk about it, let’s be clear. You had the state of Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court said they would count ballots three days after the polls closed in Pennsylvania in 2020. That’s a violation of state law passed by the legislature, signed by the governor. That’s what happened in the state of Pennsylvania. That’s one example.
