Here are five facts on contested congressional elections: 1.        The authority for the House to overturn election results comes from the Constitution and the Federal Contested Elections Act. Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution says âEach House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members,â which means that the House and Senate can determine whether a member has been duly elected. In 1969, Congress passed the Federal Contested Elections Act, which laid out a procedure for losing candidates to contest the outcome. Within 30 days of the electionâs certification by the state election body, the losing candidate can file a notice with the U.S. House, starting a process including candidate statements and depositions. The process resembles a court trial, with the losing candidate having the burden of proof.