Senate leader Mitch McConnell called the forthcoming election certification “the most consistent vote” during a call with senators this week, according to Senator Mitt Romney, who was in attendance. Congress will meet on January 6 to count each state’s electoral votes and reaffirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
The census provides Republican lawmakers who have to make one last desperate attempt to reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley announced on Wednesday that he wants to object to the certification.
When asked about his interpretation of McConnell’s comments, Romney told reporters on Friday, “I take that as a statement that he believes it’s a – it’s a referendum on our democracy.”
The joint session of Congress is required by law to ratify presidential results, but it also allows “members to object to the returns of an individual state as announced,” according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Lawmakers can object to the results – even if it isn’t their home state – leaving the door open for representatives backing Mr. Trump’s unproven claims about widespread electoral fraud to interrupt the typically ceremonial process.
Hawley is the only Republican senator to commit to challenging election votes, although several Conservative House members have vowed to do so. President Trump has suggested that Congress should step in, hoping they will give him a second term after previous attempts to contest the election results failed.
The Missouri Republican said in a statement that he “cannot vote to confirm the results of the electoral college on Jan. 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, have not complied with their own electoral laws.” He added that he “cannot vote to certify without highlighting the unprecedented effort by mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to intervene in this election in support of Joe Biden.”
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and take steps to ensure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far taken no action,” Hawley said.
Objections must be signed by both a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate. When that is achieved, the two houses will separate to debate and vote to accept or reject the objection. However, the House is controlled by Democrats, albeit by a smaller margin, so even if the GOP-controlled Senate were to reject a state, there is essentially no chance that the House would.
McConnell last month asked Republican senators to raise no objection when the joint session meets. Other GOP senators, including those close to Mr Trump, have suggested that such a move would be fruitless.
While Hawley’s attempt is unlikely to succeed, Romney called it “dangerous to democracy here and abroad” because it “continues to spread the false rumor that the elections were somehow stolen.”
“Look, I lost in 2012, I know what it’s like to lose,” said Romney, who ran for president in 2012. “And there were people who said there are irregularities. I have people today who say: “Hey, you know what you are. Really won” – but I didn’t, I lost fair and square. Of course there were always irregularities, but spreading rumors like this that our electoral system is not working is dangerous to democracy in at home and abroad. ‘