By Senator Rob Portman

I have supported the Trump campaign’s right to count every lawful vote, request state recounts and pursue lawsuits regarding election fraud or other irregularities.
Based on polling, a substantial majority of the nearly 74 million Americans who supported President Trump question the legitimacy of the election. I believe going through a fair and transparent process to ensure the election was properly decided is important for our democracy and to help heal our polarized country.
In supporting this post-election process, I have said that the states and the courts should act expeditiously and that any allegations of fraud must be based on evidence, which is what the law requires.
This process has now been going on for about three weeks. The Trump campaign has taken steps to insist that only lawful votes were counted in key states, including filing numerous lawsuits. At this point, the vast majority of these lawsuits have been resolved and most of the remaining ones are expected to be resolved in the next couple of weeks. There were instances of fraud and irregularities in this election, as there have been in every election. It is good that those have been exposed and any fraud or other wrongdoing should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but there is no evidence as of now of any widespread fraud or irregularities that would change the result in any state.
States have now completed counting votes and most battleground states will have certified their election results as of this week. Some state recounts have been completed and those remaining are expected to be completed within the next two weeks. Based on all the information currently available, neither the final lawful vote counts nor the recounts have led to a different outcome in any state. In other words, the initial determination showing Joe Biden with enough electoral votes to win has not changed.
I voted for President Trump, was a co-chair of his campaign in Ohio, and I believe his policies would be better for Ohio and the country. But I also believe that there is no more sacred constitutional process in our great democracy than the orderly transfer of power after a presidential election. It is now time to expeditiously resolve any outstanding questions and move forward.
As noted above, the key recounts, state certifications and most pending lawsuits are expected to be completed in the next two weeks. This timing coincides with a crucial deadline of Dec. 8 in a law establishing a “safe harbor” for states to certify their electors. This means that if Congress receives those slates of Trump or Biden electors by that date, those slates are final. Going past that deadline would cause unprecedented uncertainty and raise serious constitutional questions. In Bush v. Gore in 2000, the Supreme Court said the safe harbor date “is designed to lead to a conclusive selection of electors…” and felt it necessary to finalize its decision by that date.
On or before Dec. 8, any ongoing efforts to ensure an accurate count must be concluded and the 2020 election brought to a close. In the meantime, the General Services Administration (GSA) should go ahead and release the funds and provide the infrastructure for an official transition, and the Biden team should receive the requested intelligence briefings and briefings on the coronavirus vaccine distribution plan. This is only prudent. Donald Trump is our president until Jan. 20, 2021, but in the likely event that Joe Biden becomes our next president, it is in the national interest that the transition is seamless and that America is ready on Day One of a new administration for the challenges we face.
The presidential election was contentious and hard fought. Roughly half of America was bound to be disappointed with the outcome. My hope is that all of us, as Americans, regardless of who we supported in the campaign, will be willing to accept the result because a thorough process was followed and the final vote count was clear.

Rob Portman (R) is a United States Senator deom the state of Ohio