Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, a member of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, announced Tuesday he plans to object to electors from six crucial states carried by president-elect Joe Biden — a largely symbolic action that is unlikely to impede Biden’s path to the White House.
“I take on this fight because it is just, not because we have the votes,” he wrote.
Davidson, a Republican representing Ohio’s 8th congressional district, wrote he would object to electors from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
These states “failed to uphold the equal protection principle of ‘one person, one vote,’” Davidson tweeted without evidence.
Electors cannot be rejected without a majority of the House and Senate agreeing to do so; Davidson would need hundreds of colleagues to support his objection in order for it to have any practical effect.
Davidson said he wants to see a chain of custody for the ballots in the six contested states, even though states like Georgia have had two recounts, one of which was done by hand.
Out of 48 post-election lawsuits filed in those six states, 35 have been dropped or dismissed. As of Tuesday, there are no credible allegations of any irregularity that would have impacted the results of the election.
Ryan Salzman, a political science professor at Northern Kentucky University, said while most of the objectors are doing so on procedural grounds, it’s actually a case of politics.
In tweets and a later statement, Davidson acknowledged the extreme unlikelihood of the objection affecting the process.
“Millions of Americans have doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election and look to Congress to represent these concerns in accordance with the Constitution,” Davidson wrote in his statement. “This isn’t about overturning the results of the election; it’s about a duty to defend the United States Constitution.”
Other local Congressmen, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), said they would object to the certification. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said they will not object.
Although many Republicans — outgoing President Donald Trump foremost among them — have alleged voter fraud in key battleground states, no evidence has been unearthed by their multiple inquiries and lawsuits.
Still, the president continued to claim he had been cheated out of a win in Georgia as recently as Monday night.
