Keystone Today

Eight Republican U.S. representatives from Pennsylvania support a challenge being made to the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6.

Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Peters), Dan Meuser (R-Dallas), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-Howard), Mike Kelly (R-Butler), Scott Perry (R-Dillsburg), Lloyd Smucker (R-West Lampeter Township), John Joyce (R-Altoona) and Fred Keller (R-Beavertown) issued a joint statement saying they supported the challenge.

“Unfortunately, the many unlawful actions undertaken by the Pennsylvania Governor's office, the Secretary of State, and what has been described as a rogue Pennsylvania Supreme Court exceeded and circumvented the state legislature's clear constitutional authority,” the statement read. 

The representatives noted unlawful actions included accepting ballots after 8 p.m. on Election Day, not requiring signatures to match on mail-in ballots, but requiring them to match for in-person voting, authorizing unsecure drop boxes to be used, prohibiting poll watchers from overseeing canvassing and only informing certain counties about authorizing the curing of mail-in ballots.

“These unlawful actions were taken without the authority or consent of the Pennsylvania state legislature,” the statement notes. “These are facts, and they are indisputable.”

The lawmakers also noted that the Pennsylvania attorney general did nothing to stop the unlawful activities.

“Not one inquiry, no questioning, and certainly no investigations,” the lawmakers said in the statement. “Not to mention that hundreds, if not thousands, of affidavits outlining election complaints and potential fraud were documented, submitted, and ignored. The Pennsylvania election could be summed up as a free-for-all with no oversight and different standards applied throughout the Commonwealth.”

The lawmakers believe it is apparent that the unlawful actions were focused on heavily Democrat areas.

“By definition, such unlawful, unregulated, and inconsistent activities resulted in a highly questionable and inaccurate vote total,” the statement says. “The scope of these inaccuracies cannot be known until the legal ballots are identified and counted, and the illegal ballots are disqualified. This has not been done.”

The legislators called the certification of the electors based on a flawed system and said unlawful practices needed to be acknowledged and corrected.

“Until these unlawful practices are acknowledged and corrected, we cannot agree to support electors chosen based upon an inaccurate total vote count,” the lawmakers said in the statement. “The voters of Pennsylvania deserve integrity in the election process and equal protection under the law.”

The lawmakers said election integrity is important to ensure trust in future elections.