Rep.-elect Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) is joining the ranks of select House Republicans, as well as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), in challenging the Electoral College votes in certain states on January 6, she announced this week.
In a statement, Harshbarger, who will be sworn into the 117th Congress on January 3, stated she will “support an objection to the certification of the Electoral College vote for the states that failed to count all legal ballots.” She noted that she joined “many” freshmen colleagues in signing a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), highlighting the “importance of guaranteeing every U.S. citizen’s right to vote in a free and fair election and that being key to protecting our Constitutional Republic.”
“I believe it is the duty of Congress to ensure that right. Multiple states are engaged in litigation and thousands of witnesses have submitted sworn affidavits of reported fraud related to the 2020 presidential election,” Harshbarger, one of several GOP women who scored congressional victories on November 3, continued.
“Our constituents demand that these reported gross violations of our elections process are investigated seriously with the intent of restoring confidence in our electoral process,” she added.
U.S. Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is also among those who plan to object to the Electoral College votes in certain states, telling the Kyle Olson Show this week that several Republican lawmakers will join the effort in objecting to the votes in six states, specifically.
“We refuse to certify a stolen election,” she said. “As members of Congress, it’s our duty to protect the integrity of our elections.”
Hawley announced Wednesday that he, too, would object on January 6.
“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws,” Hawley said in a news release:
“And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden,” he continued, contending that Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud while adopting measures to ensure election integrity “at the very least.”
“But Congress has so far failed to act,” the Republican lawmaker continued. “For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on January 6 to raise these critical issues.”
Pelosi downplayed the attempts to challenge the Electoral College votes, which will trigger debates, telling reporters during her Wednesday press conference that she possesses “no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today, that Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th President of the United States.”