I do not know what the outcome of any of these efforts will be, and I do not know whether any of them will affect the outcome of the election. I do know, as Leader McConnell said last week, we have a duty to ensure the sanctity of our democratic process by counting every legal ballot and throwing out every illegally-cast ballot. Our states, our Constitution and our court systems have prescribed processes to address these issues.

Most states will not actually certify the results of their elections until later this month and in some cases not until December. It is both prudent and appropriate to let these processes run their course before we prejudge an outcome. Some of these lawsuits may eventually end up before the Supreme Court, and no one knows what the outcome would be at this point. Many are speculating — but at the moment, that’s all it is.

Vice President Al Gore pursued his legal options in 2000 and delayed a decision until that December once the judicial process was exhausted. The ultimate objective should always be to ensure that we have an election outcome that we can all have confidence in. That can only happen with transparency and the patience to let all of this play out. There is a reason why Electors do not meet until December 14th and the swearing-in date is January 20th.