Speaker Johnson Echoes 2020 As He Won’t Commit to Certifying 2024 Election
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Speaker Johnson said the House would only follow the constitution and observe regular order in the certification process of the 2024 election “if we have a free, fair, and safe election.” Johnson has claimed passage of the SAVE Act, which has repeatedly failed, is the only way to guarantee “secure, fair, and free” elections. He used similar terminology in 2020 as he promoted conspiracies to undermine faith in the presidential election and attempted to overturn the results.
Not only is Speaker Johnson refusing to certify the 2024 presidential election, but he’s laying the groundwork to promote false claims that this election will not be “free, fair and safe,” just like he did in 2020. He is seeking the cover he needs to refuse to follow the constitutionally-required process of certification. Speaker Johnson must stop this dangerous game and commit to certify the 2024 presidential election.
Johnson’s rhetoric follows the same pattern and efforts he used to undermine the 2020 election results as a back bench representative:
2024: Speaker Johnson champions SAVE Act, a bill which promotes election conspiracies about non-citizen voting. He claims this bill is the only way to guarantee “secure, fair, and free” elections – despite no evidence of non-citizen voting.
SPEAKER JOHNSON: “Protecting legal voters is incredibly crucial for a free, fair, and honest election. The SAVE Act ensures only Americans can vote in American elections.”
SPEAKER JOHNSON after the SAVE Act/Continuing Resolution bill was pulled: “Congress has a lot of responsibilities… make sure that our elections are free and fair and secure.”
SPEAKER JOHNSON after the SAVE Act/Continuing Resolution bill failed on the House floor: “Congress has an obligation to ensure that our elections are secure, fair and free… I’m very disappointed that it didn’t pass.”
2020: then-Representative Johnson leads efforts to overturn presidential election results, after months of promoting baseless conspiracy theories about the election not being “free and fair”.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON, in a letter promoting a ballot harvesting conspiracy theory: “The ability to participate in the democratic process by voting for our representatives in free and fair elections… these incidents… seriously undermine the public’s faith in this year’s election.”
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: “President Trump called me last night and I was encouraged to hear his continued resolve to ensure that every LEGAL vote gets properly counted and that all instances of fraud and illegality are investigated and prosecuted. Fair elections are worth fighting for!”
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: “I have just called President Trump to say this: “Stay strong and keep fighting, sir! The nation is depending upon your resolve. We must exhaust every available legal remedy to restore Americans’ trust in the fairness of our election system.”
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