NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — House Democratic leaders released a statement Thursday, rebuking state Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s announcement that Tennessee would join 17 other states in supporting Texas' efforts to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
The lawsuit, which was filed earlier in the week by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), would throw out the results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – all states won by Biden.
Tennessee House Minority Leader Karen Camper said in a statement, “it’s disappointing that with all the pressing issues facing the state…crucial matters like fighting off the pandemic, getting our children back in school, stimulating the economy for small businesses and putting people back to work… that we are choosing to waste time on a decided election.”
“People are dying, losing jobs and homes and Governor Bill Lee feels it’s appropriate to waste our tax dollars defending a lost cause. It’s time to unite Tennesseans not divide us by undermining democracy,” House Caucus Chair Vincent Dixie added.
On Wednesday, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III released the following statement after the decision:
“The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has consistently taken the position that only a State’s legislature has the authority to make and change election laws. This Office pressed that argument in cases defending Tennessee’s election laws against pandemic-related challenges and in amicus briefs in cases involving similar challenges in other courts. This is not something new. Texas’s action in the Supreme Court seeks to vindicate the same important separation-of-powers principles, and that is why we joined Missouri’s amicus brief in support of that action.”
As of Tuesday, nearly every state had certified the results of their elections, a process known as "safe harbor." With Biden's win certified, the electoral college will formally recognize Biden's win on Dec. 14.
The Trump campaign and other Republicans continue to file lawsuits attempting to overturn election results on widespread fraud claims. But none of those lawsuits have proved any systematic fraud or consequential error in U.S. voting systems.
Related story: Biden's win is sealed, despite continued venting and threats from Trump
The Associated Press and Scripps National Desk contributed to this report.
