Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who was one of the first lawmakers to announce his objection to the certification of Joe Biden for president, condemned Wednesday’s riot at the US Capitol, but reaffirmed his decision to object to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes going to the President-elect.
“Pennsylvania, which is a state that I have been focused on, as an example, as to why people are concerned,” Hawley told lawmakers on the Senate floor. “Millions of Americans are concerned about our elections integrity.”
Hawley, 41, who was elected to represent Missouri in 2018, did not claim any allegations of fraud, but called out Pennsylvania lawmakers over enacting new procedures regarding mail-in ballots.
“Last year, Pennsylvania elected officials passed a whole new law that allows universal mail-in balloting,” Hawley said. “And did it irregardless of what the Pennsylvania Constitution says. And then when Pennsylvania and (its) citizens tried to go and be heard on the subject, before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, they were dismissed on grounds of procedure, timeliness in violation of that Supreme Court’s own precedent.”
Facts First: After the state decided last fall to allow “no excuse” absentee ballots for this election, Pennsylvania Republicans attempted to change the state’s law so that processing could begin earlier and the number of days after the election that counties could receive ballots would be limited. However, they were unsuccessful, and the status quo remained.
Hawley will formally object to Pennsylvania electoral vote tonight, according to his office.