Reply #26: You faith is displaced [View All]

Title 3 of the United States Code specifies in excrutiating detail the procedures and limits for debating and voting on objections filed in the joint session where the electoral votes are received and counted. Once each house is dismissed to its respective chamber they have no more than 2 hours to debate the objection, after which the president of the Senate is compelled to call them back into joint session to render their decision on the objection, without further debate. While in their separate sessions, each Senator or Representative can speak only once and for no more than 5 minutes. As I read the law, other parties, including lawyers and staff, are not allowed to speak. Assuming the presiding officer of each house divides the time equally, each party would be allocated one-half of the total time. While theoretically you could squeeze twelve speakers into each hour (5 minutes each), you've also got to allow time for procedural matters such as recognition of speakers, calls to order, etc. So as a practical matter, you'll probably get no more than 10 speakers from each party to the floor, each limited to 5 minutes a piece, and probably with recognition of each speaker alternating between members of the two parties. Unless the evidence is already so manifestly obvious (perhaps from the press or advance research done by the congressional staff), there's no way in hell the Congress that is seated next week is going to throw the results out.