Defeated Dem Candidate Wants Race To Be Overturned Through Old House Rule
A shockingly close congressional race in Iowa saw the defeat of a state senator by a margin of fewer than 50 votes, and a subsequent recount only confirmed the Democratic candidate’s loss.
Now, she’s going above the people and the state of Iowa itself, instead turning to the Democrat-led House of Representatives to hand her the election.
Iowa state Sen. Rita Hart is planning to make the demand after a late November recount lowered her margin of defeat from 47 votes to six votes, Politico reported. Earlier this week, state officials certified the victory of Hart’s Republican opponent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Hart is seeking to invoke a House process outlined in the Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969, which gives the House Administration Committee latitude to open an investigation before reporting back to the full chamber.
After receiving the report, lawmakers would decide whether to seat the defeated Hart or her victorious Republican rival with a simple vote. According to Politico, the brashness of this move left some members of Hart’s own party stunned.
Leading a slight Democratic majority in the chamber, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party members would seemingly give Hart better odds at becoming a congresswoman than another recount in Iowa.
Hart faced a Wednesday deadline to file for state deliberation efforts, which would have put her case in front of a tribunal comprised of an Iowa Supreme Court justice and other lower judges. But she opted to turn to the House of Representatives instead.
“With a margin this small, it is critical that we take this next step to ensure Iowans’ ballots that were legally cast are counted,” Hart campaign manager Zach Meunier told Politico.
It’s worth mentioning again that voters’ ballots were counted twice, both times showing a defeat for Hart.
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Despite the votes of Iowans, the election will now seemingly be decided by a slew of lawmakers from all states of the Union.
The process Hart is aiming to use is more than 50 years old, and was used in 1985 to deprive a victorious Republican of his rightfully won seat in the House.
According to a Washington Post article from that year, Indiana Democratic Rep. Frank McCloskey kept his seat despite losing the election by 35 votes. McCloskey would hold his position until being handed a resounding defeat by voters in 1994.
Hart asserts that appealing to the House is the best way to ensure that all ballots are counted in a fair manner.
“The only way to ensure all Iowans’ votes are counted is a full examination of this election by the U.S. House that will consider every ballot cast,” Hart tweeted Wednesday.
We all watched #IA02 close from 47 votes to 6, but there are still ballots that haven’t been counted. The only way to ensure all Iowans’ votes are counted is a full examination of this election by the U.S. House that will consider every ballot cast. pic.twitter.com/NVksSnT6gd
— Rita Hart (@RitaHartIA) December 2, 2020
It’s unclear how Pelosi will act, especially considering her party’s control of the House was greatly weakened in the 2020 elections.
If Hart’s rightfully elected Republican opponent is rejected along a party-line vote, it’s likely this will only cement many Americans’ distrust of our electoral process.
With a presidential election still being contested amid allegations of fraud and other issues, this loss of confidence could come at the worst time possible.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
