One accommodation that Republicans have cited was a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that allowed voters to return absentee ballots via drop boxes. Republicans have claimed that the ruling, which was legally made in September, allows people to “harvest” — or collect — other people’s ballots and change their votes before dropping the ballots off.
However, the challengers have not identified any evidence that fraud occurred, and many states use drop boxes without problems. Ballots returned in drop boxes undergo the same rigorous vetting process that all absentee ballots receive.
Since the Nov. 3 election, President Donald Trump’s campaign has launched 60 court challenges based on theories of voter fraud. All challenges but one have been dismissed citing a lack of evidence — some by Trump-appointed federal judges.
Still, Malliotakis and many other Republican members of the House and Senate pledged to vote against the certification of Pennsylvania’s and Arizona’s ballots — at least until the Jan. 6 incursion of the Capitol.
After a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the federal building during the final electoral count — destroying the representatives’ offices and sending the electeds into hiding — at least four senators who previously opposed the election’s results changed their tune.
Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Ten.) reversed their plans to oppose the election results.
“The events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider, and I cannot now, in good conscience, object,” said Loeffler.
Six Republican senators stuck by their decision to vote against the Arizona results, and seven voted against the Pennsylvania results.
Meanwhile, a few Republicans blamed Trump for the violent mob, arguing that his claims of fraud and his posts on Twitter incited the violence.
Still, Malliotakis and many other Republican members of the House and Senate pledged to vote against the certification of Pennsylvania’s and Arizona’s ballots — at least until the Jan. 6 incursion of the Capitol.
“Trump and I, we had a hell of a journey. I hate it being this way,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a longtime supporter of Trump’s who was dismissive of the voter fraud claim. “All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough. I tried to be helpful.”
Others begged the president to issue a strong statement demanding that his supporters back down.
“Mr. President @realDonaldTrump the men & women of law enforcement are under assault,” Sen. Mark Rubio (R-Flordia) wrote on Twitter. “It is crucial you help restore order by sending resources to assist the police and ask those doing this to stand down.”
Malliotakis, for her part, has not condemned the president’s actions, but told Fox that Vice President Mike Pence was right to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
“I think that the vice president did what he was constitutionally required to do,” she said.
She added that she opposed the votes’ certification not in order to overturn the election, but to investigate the alleged irregularities.
This story first appeared on our sister site, www.brooklynpaper.com
