WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released the below statement ahead of Congress’ electoral college vote count. 

Senator Rick Scott said, “I’ve thought long and hard about the question before the U.S. Congress today. I’ve heard from constituents across Florida and across the country and I’ve listened to their concerns about the way this election was carried out. I share many of their concerns. 

“During today’s proceedings, I will listen to any and all objections that are raised. I will pay careful attention to the evidence and arguments presented by both sides.

“The situation in Pennsylvania is of particular concern to me, and I will likely vote to sustain the objection to their slate of electors. The actions of the Governor’s Administration and the courts in Pennsylvania pose a serious threat to the integrity of future elections. The Democrat Governor of Pennsylvania, along with state courts, made a decision to allow votes to be counted that came in after election day, even if they did not have a postmark, in defiance of state law. This is absurd, and cannot be tolerated. It also appears that Pennsylvania enacted policies in direct conflict with its own state constitution, which is also unacceptable. We simply cannot tolerate partisan political attempts to change the rules and tip the scales in our elections. In October, Supreme Court Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas warned that the reckless actions of Pennsylvania’s Governor and Secretary of State might result in ‘serious post-election problems’ and they were right. Both of these matters are still pending at the United States Supreme Court and it would be prudent for Congress to object to Pennsylvania’s electors until these important constitutional questions are resolved.

“Democrats who are arguing that Republicans fighting to protect the integrity of every vote are a threat to democracy are the same people who tried to overturn the election of Donald Trump every day since he was sworn into office after winning legitimately in 2016. Democrat efforts to impeach President Trump – aided by their allies in the media – were a political coup attempt, an illegitimate effort to remove a president from office because Democrats didn’t like the result of the election. 

“In September, I introduced the VOTER Act, which would address systemic problems in voting systems across the country and rebuild trust in our electoral process. It would mandate Voter ID in every state, institute measures to ensure timely results and create uniform national standards for voting by mail. I believe it is a strong path forward to prevent a repeat of the 2020 election and I will be reintroducing this bill at the earliest opportunity.”