26 State House Republicans call for withdrawal of presidential voter certification



[ad_1]

Declaring that the results of statewide contests in the 2020 general election are in dispute, a group of Republican House lawmakers have announced plans to introduce a resolution calling on Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to withdraw their certification from the 3 election results in presidential contests and other statewide contests.

Citing what they described as compromises, irregularities and irregularities in electoral law associated with postal voting, pre-canvassing and canvassing, the 26 lawmakers said in a press release issued on Friday afternoon. that the questions raised about the election had “undermined our electoral process. and therefore, we cannot accept the certification of results in national races. ”

The proposed resolution, if presented, has only a short life since the legislative session ends on Monday, November 30. All pending bills and resolutions will die upon its conclusion.

The resolution contradicts the October statements of two Republican heads of state, Senator Jake Corman and Representative Kerry Benninghoff, published in the Center Daily Times. Corman is the Senate Majority Leader and Kerry Beninghoff is the House Majority Leader; both are from Center County.

“The Pennsylvania General Assembly does not and will not have a hand in choosing the state’s presidential voters or in deciding the outcome of the presidential election. To suggest otherwise is to inappropriately put fear in the Pennsylvania electorate with an imaginary scenario that is not provided for anywhere in law – or in fact, ”they wrote. “Pennsylvania law makes it clear that state voters are chosen solely by the popular vote of Commonwealth voters.”

A spokesperson for R-Lancaster County House Speaker Bryan Cutler said Cutler was not involved in drafting the resolution. Cutler also didn’t set aside session days to review it before the session ended.

A spokesperson for Benninghoff repeated on Friday what his caucus leaders said earlier: They are respecting the tradition that the winner of the popular vote in the presidential race gets the voters.

On Tuesday, Governor Tom Wolf certified the election results showing that President-elect Joe Biden won the state by more than 81,000 votes. Other statewide races have resulted in Republican candidate for Auditor General Timothy DeFoor and Republican candidate for state treasurer Stacy Garrity as the winner of their races, while incumbent Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro won his candidacy for re-election as attorney general.

Even though two of the three GOP candidates for state online offices have been certified as winners, lawmakers say they and the presidential voter selection for Biden should be withdrawn or canceled. The resolution also urges Congress to “declare that the selection of presidential voters in this Commonwealth is in dispute.”

Concerns about the fairness and integrity of the election raised by the group of lawmakers in some of the 21 clauses of its resolution are similar to arguments raised by President Donald Trump’s legal team at a Political Committee meeting Senate majority vote Wednesday at the Wyndham Hotel in Gettysburg. .

“It is absolutely imperative that we take these steps if we are to ensure public confidence in our electoral system. Faith in government begins with faith in the elections that select that government, ”said the press release from the GOP members of the House. “Just as Pennsylvania led the founding of our nation, Pennsylvania should also lead the way in ensuring that our Commonwealth continues to be the keystone of our nation where free and fair elections are of paramount importance,” whatever the final result of these elections. ”

Those who signed on as co-sponsors of the resolution are: Reps Russ Diamond, Eric Nelson, Paul Schemel, Greg Rothman, Frank Ryan, Dawn Keefer, Mike Jones, David Rowe, Michael Puskaric, Barbara Gleim, Bud Cook, Cris Dush, Stephanie Borowicz, David Zimmerman, Daryl Metcalfe, David Maloney, Dan Moul, Brad Roae, Kathy Rapp, Jim Cox, Rob Kauffman, Matthew Dowling, Eric Davanzo, Rich Irvin, Aaron Bernstine and Andrew Lewis.

State and local authorities have consistently said there was no evidence of widespread election fraud.

Trump has lost a string of court challenges over the Pennsylvania election results. The latest came on Friday when a federal appeals committee refused to block the certification of the Pennsylvania vote. Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote that there was no evidence to support his claims that the 2020 presidential election was unfair.

“The accusations of injustice are serious. But calling an election unfair doesn’t make it that way, ”Bibas wrote in the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals opinion. “Charges require specific allegations and then evidence. We have neither here. … The campaign’s claims are baseless. Bibas was appointed by Trump in 2017 to serve on the tribunal.

Categories:
Election | News | Political election | Best Stories

[ad_2]

Source link