Mike Pence did not overturn any actual votes on January 6.
Posted by Bulwark Takes, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
Bulwark TakesSep 15, 2026
Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources report that Pence refused to reject or return electoral votes and certified the results on January 6, 2021, so he overturned no votes. The passage's core point is that objecting Republicans failed to overturn votes, and the extracted claim shifts the subject to Pence, though the passage itself implies Pence did not overturn votes either.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… I mean, January 6th, uhm, obviously, you don't necessarily have a giant riot storming the Capitol, but as far as the votes on January 6th were concerned, After Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what needed to be done, you know, there were an insane number of Republicans, in objective terms, who continued to object, but not enough to win anything, not enough to overturn any actual votes. And everybody who was in a position of leadership power, basically did the right thing. The election was certified, and you were good. And everything else after that was mopping up. Ah it would be different. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters reports that Pence declined the pressure from Trump to reject the electoral certification on January 6, 2021, and performed the ceremonial certification.[1]
Supports. PolitiFact reports that Pence issued a statement saying he did not have unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted, and accepted the results from each state.[2]
Supports. The House committee and NBC News report that Pence refused to reject electoral votes and that the committee said he 'resisted the pressure' and 'knew it was illegal.'[4][5]
Supports. The Associated Press and the NYT report that Pence certified the results and stated he lacked constitutional power to reject or return electoral votes.[3][6]
Context. The extraction shifts the passage's subject from objecting Republicans failing to overturn votes to Pence himself not overturning votes; the passage implies Pence did not do so, and the sources support that reading, so the grading is unaffected.
Sources
6 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 3 tier 2
- 1Pence and a Christmas call star in Trump indictmentreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2What you need to know about the fake Trump electors - PolitiFactpolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Donald Trump election case: Filing details schism with Pence over ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 4January 6 committee hearing to paint Pence pressure campaign ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Pence aides detail Trump effort to overturn election results ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6Pence, Diverging From Trump, Says He Was ‘Proud' to Certify Electionnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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- Mike Johnson objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election both before and after January 6, 2021.True