Lawyer 2 Lawyer · Attorney J. Craig Williams and Legal Talk Network

How Much Power Vice Presidents Really Have & Why JD Vance’s Comments Are Alarming Lawyers

·35 min·3 clips
The vice president deciding their own election is a nonsensical conflict the Constitution doesn't permit.
Legal scholar Matthew Seligman discusses the limited constitutional powers of the vice president, focusing on the role in counting electoral votes and the dangers of authoritarian assertions by figures like J.D. Vance. He explains historical precedents, the Electoral Count Reform Act, and broader threats to democratic norms.

As heard by us

A focused look at J.D. Vance and the legal mechanics of counting electoral votes.

This episode treats J.D. Vance's remarks as a straight constitutional problem: who would control the January 6, 2029 count if the ticket won. It traces that question through past electoral-vote disputes, from the Electoral Commission of 1877 to the Electoral Count Reform Act of…

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Want the legal mechanics behind why J.D. Vance's comments set off constitutional alarm bells?

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