Noah Feldman, Columnist

Congress Shouldn't Be Able to Steal an Election

The 1887 law allowing legislators to dispute the vote needs an overhaul.

January 5, 2021 at 11:00 AM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

A dangerous ploy.
Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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It’s really happening: Republicans in the House and Senate are poised to defy reality and try in vain to reverse the presidential election results.

Congress will meet on January 6 to certify the election results in what is normally a predictable ritual. A dozen Republican senators and several members of the House have said they plan to object. When they do, it’s going to be a dark day for U.S. democracy. That’s true even though Joe Biden will still ultimately be recognized as the winner of the 2020 election.