As I told many people back then, Pence was mostly correct, technically speaking, while at the same time not exactly "right."

It is correct that the ECA made the VP's role in the electoral certification process 100% ministerial. However, this statement ignores the question about whether or not the ECA is itself, Constituonal. I contend that it is unconstitutional and should have been challenged a long time ago. While it might arguably be a wiser clarification of a largely unclear system laid out by the Constitution, that doesn't make it legal under said Constitution. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized with unilateral power to give themselves such unilateral power to be the judges over presidential Electoral results. They are not explicitly given any power to remedy disputes. This is why 1876 was such a watershed moment, constitutionally speaking. There arose an unprecedented problem, and the ECA served as a "solution." But it was unconstitutional. If we truly believe that Congress should be vested with such authority, then it needs to be written into the Constitution via and amendment. As the Constitution is currently written, SCOTUS is the final arbiter over all federal electoral disputes, and even state level disputes as it has explicit power to judge state-state disputes. And that's ultimately what we have here... some states challenging that other states violated federal election laws and the Constitution itself, thus causing undue harm against the citizens of their state. As I've said many, many times here, this has always been a judicial question.

Pence was correct about no VP since the ECA having been anything other than ministerial, but failed to mention that prior to 1876, both Adams and Jefferson exerted unilateral authority to accept questionable certificates. In Adams' case, there wasn't as much a fuss, because the issue with RI wasn't as controversial. Even Madison stated it was the correct decision. But Jefferson essentially made himself President. The GA certificate did not follow the form required by the Constitution. While it's still somewhat debatable if the numbers were reliable (because some papers reported them...), the fact remains that the certificate was invalid. Yet Jefferson ignored this, counted all the votes for himself, and boom he's president... at least after the Burr issues. There was also lots of sketchiness about the Electoral appointments in SC, but that's a bit of another issue...

So contrary to this narrative, prior to 1876 the nature of the VP's role was evidently far more involved than the ministerial role under the ECA... this is why what happened in 1876, happened... lack of absolute clarity.

So Pence correctly followed the ECA. But did he follow the Constitution? Still debatable. I contend that the VP was always intended by the Framers to be the presiding officer and no more... ministerial. But I also contend that the Framers didn't vest unilateral judicial power in Congress, except in the specific case of being they judges over their own elections and proceedings.

Strategically speaking, had Pence done "something", there'd have been hot civil war. Guaranteed. Leftists would have gone absolutely apeshit, BLM/Antifa × 100000. As Trump said, it took "more courage" for him to "not do anything." Most MAGA hate him for it. Made him the scapegoat. I still argue that Trump is far more to blame than Pence. He was POTUS. A presidential election was stolen on his watch. He had all the power in the world to prevent it, at least in theory. Reality is that he didn't do a damn thing. It would now appear that this refusal to do anything, was by design to set a trap... at least so we hope. Or perhaps it was a change in plans made strategically because of changing factors, like the possibility he was going to get assassinated or open violent civil war causing millions of deaths. In any case, if this shit goes on to 2024 without remedied, then Trump et al are all equally as guilty of treason for letting our country be destroyed.