Several Republicans, including Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), have resorted to suing Vice President Mike Pence as part of a "desperate" last-ditch effort to overturn the results of November's presidential election, The Hill reports. The goal of the lawsuit is to get a federal judge to rule that Pence has the exclusive authority to choose electors when he oversees the Electoral College vote certification on Jan. 6.
Despite President-elect Joe Biden's victory in battleground states like Arizona and Georgia, Republican electors held their own votes earlier this month in a move to disrupt the official process as Trump and his allies continue to make unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud. The lawsuit urges Pence to recognize the Republican electoral votes rather than the actual Democratic votes.
The chances of this lawsuit being successful appear to be negligible. University of California, Irvine, law professor Rick Hasen said flatly "this won't work," while Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis called it "insane." And even if the the plaintiffs do win, Pence — who has not recognized Biden's win, but has generally been quiet about election conspiracy theories — would still have to actually go through with picking pro-Trump electors, a task likely easier said than done. Read the full complaint here.