Both Idaho Senators voted no to the Republican-led effort to object to certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.
Sen. Mike Crapo and Sen. Jim Risch were both among the 93 senators who voted no to objecting the electoral ballot certification. Six senators voted to block it.
Both the House and the Senate voted down measures to block the certification.
Crapo said he would vote no to the effort in a statement:
Through the Electoral College, the election of the president is entrusted to the states, not to Congress. When disputes arise, adjudication rests in the courts. Any effort by Congress to abandon the Electoral College’s constitutional significance for states to certify and send their Electors would set a dangerous precedent I cannot support. To undercut this system would inevitably lead to federalizing our election process and remove the authority of states under the Constitution. This is an outcome many have sought for years, but it would be a serious mistake. It would gravely diminish Idaho’s role in electing future presidents. I took a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office I represent. That is why I will not join efforts to have Congress reject validly certified Electoral College votes.
Risch said in a statement the riots at the U.S. Capitol were "unpatriotic" and "un-American" and he was "proud to join my colleagues and reconvene at the Capitol tonight to prove that mob rule never prevails. Freedom and law and order will always triumph."
"The business we conducted today showed there is deep distrust in the integrity and veracity of our elections," Risch said in the statement. "We need to restore American’s faith in our voting process. I am committed to pursue that so all of America has the benefit of what we enjoy in Idaho - solid confidence in the outcome of our elections. An open, transparent system with clear guidelines and rigorous safeguards is vital."
After saying he would vote to object the certification, Congressman Russ Fulcher supported the objection to Arizona’s delegate count.
