Ohio’s U.S. Senators weighed in Wednesday on the 2020 presidential contest, which remains undecided. In election night unofficial results, President Donald Trump led former Vice President Joe Biden by 8 points in Ohio.
But the results in a number of key battleground states are not yet known.
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who previously served as Ohio Secretary of State, urged Americans to be patient as the nation's election officials work to certify the entire final ballot count.
“Now that they're counting every single vote, including many that were cast by mail before Election Day," Brown said, "it simply takes time to process the record number of voters and early and absentee votes we had this year in many states, including Ohio.”
Referencing Trump's false claim of a White House victory, as reported by NPR, and this year's record-high voter turnout, Brown said "the system's working," noting that nonpartisan election officials are following the law in ensuring all votes are tallied.
"It's not either candidate. It's not the courts. It's not the Supreme Court who will declare a winner in this race. It's the voters," he said.
Republican Sen. Rob Portman also called for patience.
In a written statement, he reminded voters that state legislatures set the rules for elections, and states are constitutionally mandated to administer and complete the election process.
Portman's statement also reads:
“Congratulations to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the county boards of elections, and the more than 50,000 Ohio poll workers for conducting a safe, secure, and transparent election in Ohio. It was not easy in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“And congratulations to President Trump on his decisive victory in Ohio. I think Ohio voters know he is the right choice to rebuild our economy as we work to emerge from this pandemic."
Copyright 2021 WYSO. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
