Pelosi readies for possible House role in election outcome

WASHINGTON: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rallying Democrats to prepare for an election scenario requiring Congress to decide the outcome of the presidential race if neither Democrat Joe Biden nor President Donald Trump wins outright.

In a campaign letter, Pelosi told her fellow House Democrats that recent comments by Trump demonstrated that he could ask the House to decide the race if it was not clear which candidate had received the minimum 270 Electoral College votes in the November 3 presidential election needed to gain office.

Trump has repeatedly questioned the security of mailin ballots, which could take a while to tabulate. Democrats fear he could try to have the count of those votes cut short in an attempt to have the outcome determined by the House.

Under the Constitution, the House would vote by state delegation, each state casting a single vote. While Democrats control the chamber by 232 seats to 198, Republicans control a majority of 26 state delegations versus 22 for Democrats. Pennsylvania’s delegation is tied, while Michigan has a 76 split between Democrats and Republicans and an additional seat held by a Libertarian.

The House has not determined the outcome of a presidential election since 1876.

Pelosi called on Democrats for ‘‘an allout effort’’ to capture additional Republicanheld House seats, which they might need if a decision on the election spills over into next year. She also urged Democrats to marshal resources to support the House Majority PAC, a political action committee committed to promoting Democratic candidates for the House.

Representative Liz Cheney, who leads the House Republican Conference, said the Speaker was trying to divert attention

from the lack of progress on Covid19 stimulus legislation.

‘‘It’s a dereliction of her duty as speaker, so it’s no surprise she is trying to get her caucus focused on something else,’’ Cheney told Reuters.

The Democraticcontrolled House passed a $US3.4 trillion coronavirus aid package in May that went nowhere in the Republicanled Senate. Negotiations to hammer out a bipartisan deal have been stalled since early August. — Reuters