Press Releases
Dr. Joyce Urges DOJ to Ensure a Fair, Free, Transparent, and Legitimate Election
Washington,
November 6, 2020
Washington, DC – Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) today joined Congressman Michael Cloud (TX-27) and 37 fellow Members of Congress to urge U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr to exercise the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) oversight over elections to ensure that the 2020 presidential election is legitimate and transparent. “In Pennsylvania and around the country, we must ensure that this election is fair, free, safe, secure, legitimate – and transparent,” said Dr. Joyce. “Today I am joining with fellow Members of Congress to urge U.S. Attorney General Barr and the Department of Justice to safeguard the integrity of the election and ensure that every American’s legally-cast ballot is counted once. For the sake of our nation, we must work together across the federal, state, and local levels to ensure that the results of this election are legitimate and fair.” In their letter, the Members of Congress expressed their concerns over alleged irregularities and potential voter fraud, as well as overall distrust in the electoral process. “While each state runs its own election process, the United States Department of Justice is ultimately responsible for the integrity of federal elections. The American people must have the utmost confidence that the outcome of the presidential election is legitimate,” they wrote. “With widespread reports of irregularities, particularly in the vote counting process, it is time for you to use the resources of the Department to ensure that the process is conducted in a manner that is fully consistent with state and federal law. And, it is also important that the process be completely transparent, so that the American people will have full confidence in the result.” Dr. Joyce and his colleagues requested DOJ’s assistance in protecting the safety of our election and ensuring that the ongoing counting process of legal ballots is legitimate and transparent. “The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Voting Section’s responsibility is to ensure that the right to vote is sacred. This not only means access to the ballot box, but it also means ensuring that no one’s vote is devalued by any means of voter fraud,” they continued. Read the full letter below: November 6, 2020 The Honorable William Barr Dear Attorney General Barr, While each state runs its own election process, the United States Department of Justice is ultimately responsible for the integrity of federal elections. The American people must have the utmost confidence that the outcome of the presidential election is legitimate. With widespread reports of irregularities, particularly in the vote counting process, it is time for you to use the resources of the Department to ensure that the process is conducted in a manner that is fully consistent with state and federal law. And, it is also important that the process be completely transparent, so that the American people will have full confidence in the result. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Voting Section’s responsibility is to ensure that the right to vote is sacred. This not only means access to the ballot box, but it also means ensuring that no one’s vote is devalued by any means of voter fraud. The U.S. Marshals Service is also available to ensure that judicial orders are carried out. When it comes to a federal election, it should not matter whether those judicial orders come from a state or federal court. For example, if a state court orders that observers can watch ballot counting in a federal election, no local election official should be able to defy that order. With that in mind, we request an immediate response to the following questions. What are you doing to ensure the integrity of the voting and counting process right now? Will you commit to using all the resources at your disposal to ensure that only legal votes are being counted and being counted in a fully transparent manner immediately? Thank you for your prompt reply. The full text of the letter and list of signers are available here.
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