Need Help An Important Question About The Challenge

[PennyMan]

I Was Reading An Article Yesterday And I Thought It Said That It Didn't Make Any Difference How Many Senators Went Along With Congressman Conyers That Cheney Could End The Challenge At Anytime. It Said That Gore Done This When He Returned To The Senator After The 2000 Presidential Race Because
He Was Upset With The Republican Party.Can Someone Find Out If This Is Right I Can't Find The Article Again Still Looking. This Would Be A Disaster If This Is Right.

[Garbo 2004]

1. No Senator contested in 2000. According to Federal law if one Senator

joins with Conyers to challenge a state's electoral votes, both houses of Congress are to meet separately and debate for a maximum of two hours in each house and then vote whether or not to accept the disputed electoral votes.

Gore was President of the Senate and wouldn't accept the objection to Florida's votes on procedural grounds because no Senator had signed on to the objection.

As to what else conceivably could happen, I don't know. But the law seems fairly clear to me as to the procedure.

[Peace Patriot]

2. They have to follow the Constitution, which lays out the...

...procedures. At least they used to. With the BushCons, we don't know which parts of the Constitution they are going to shred next.

[Garbo 2004]

3. Again, it's Fed law, not the Constitution, that sets the procedures for

contesting electoral votes.

[hootinholler]

5. Yes as referenced here.

in this thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=230233

-Hoot

[bemis12]

4. No, Cheny can't

end the challenge anytime he wants to. Gore didn't end it either- no Senator joined the challenge in 2000. If they had, there would have been debate and then a vote.