KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, announced Wednesday on Twitter that he plan to object to the certification of Electoral College votes in early January.
The vote will take place during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, but Hawley said he cannot vote to certify the results because of concerns about election integrity.
"I cannot vote to certify the electoral college [sic] 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 statement released on Twitter, "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."
Hawley then called on Congress to investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt new measures to protect the integrity of elections.
Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf pic.twitter.com/kTaaPPJGHE
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 30, 2020
According to The Hill, Hawley is the first GOP senator to back this effort, which began with House conservatives. House members needed the support of a senator to force a debate and a vote on their objections.
Rep. Jody Hice, a Republican from Georgia, has already said he would lead an objection.
SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO) JOINS 30+ CONGRESSMEN IN OBJECTING to electoral college vote submissions from states with such flawed election systems as to render their election results untrustworthy.
— Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) December 30, 2020
BAM! The fight for America’s Republic IS ON!
WATCH JANUARY 6, STARTING 1PM ET. pic.twitter.com/vjcUW9ec6U
The certification process is the final step in cementing President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. This process is usually done relatively quickly, but Hawley’s promise to object all but ensures at least a short delay.
A member of the House would also need to object in order for both chambers to take up a vote on the matter. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) has already said he would lead an objection, which Missouri Democratic Party Chair Michael Butler called "dangerous and irresponsible."
“President-Elect Joe Biden won a fair and free election, winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College," Butler said in a statement. "It’s past time to stop with the malarkey and move forward with a peaceful transition of power. Refusing to listen to the will of Americans and slowing this transition or refusing to work with the Biden transition team is dangerous and irresponsible.”
The House and Senate will each then vote on the matter, with a simple majority required to uphold the objection and each chamber would need to agree to the objection for it to succeed.
The objection is certain to fail, since the House is controlled by the Democrats and many GOP lawmakers in the Republican-held Senate have acknowledged Biden’s win.
In his statement, Hawley noted that Democrats have objected to certifications in the past as well. This is true, with the most recent being in 2017. Multiple Democrats rose to object to Trump’s election, but none submitted it in writing, and it was gaveled down.
Later Wednesday, Walmart apologized to Hawley for a tweet that called the Missouri senator a sore loser for contesting Biden’s victory.
The now deleted tweet, “Go ahead. Get your 2 hour debate. #soreloser,” was mistakenly sent by a member of Walmart’s social media team who meant to publish it on their personal account, the company said.
The hashtag #BoycottWalmart began to trend on Twitter shortly after it appeared on the company’s official Twitter account.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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