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Montana politics, elections and legislative news

Rosendale, Daines To Object To Electoral College Vote Certification

President Donald Trump and then Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale on stage during a July 5, 2018 rally in Great Falls, MT.
Corin Cates-Carney
/
Montana Public Radio
President Donald Trump and then Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale on stage during a July 5, 2018 rally in Great Falls, MT.

Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale is joining a group of Republican U.S. Representatives who have announced their intention to object to Electoral College results from certain states during a joint session of Congress Wednesday.

Rosendale joins Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines in calling for the creation of an Electoral Commission to conduct an emergency 10 day audit of election returns.

Current and former GOP officials have condemned the effort, warning it undermines American’s faith in democracy, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

In a statement Tuesday, Rosendale said he will vote to oppose the certification of the presidential electors from “certain disputed states,” though the newly sworn in Representative doesn’t name which ones.

Rosendale’s office did not respond to YPR’s request for an interview.

During a segment of Montana Talks with Aaron Flint on Tuesday, Rosendale said, “We’ve got numerous, extensive, credible allegations of fraud that have taken place in many states, and for those states to certify those elections without addressing those allegations properly, I do not feel comfortable in certifying those electors coming from those states.”

State officials have certified their election results as fair and valid, and no fraud has been proven in court, according to the AP.

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Sen. Daines on Saturday released a joint statement with 10 other Republican Senators spearheaded by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

“Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states. Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed,” the senators wrote.

Daines in a separate statement said, “The processes and the way Americans voted was altered at a scale never before imagined outside what the state legislative process intended.

“There have been continued reports of irregularities with signature verification, different rules for mail-in ballots versus in-person ballots, delayed receipt of ballots, inconsistent curing of ballots, a lack of meaningful access to the polls, the dispute process and counting process for partisan poll watchers. These issues have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the presidential election outcome which needs further investigation for the credibility of our institutions.”

NPR reports every court that has examined allegations of fraud in the 2020 election have found them to be unfounded, including the Supreme Court, which numbers three Trump appointees.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have objected to state’s electors before, including Democrats in 2017 challenging Trump’s win. Those objections were not submitted in writing and then Vice President Biden gaveled them down.

On Wednesday Congress is set to convene in a joint session to confirm President-elect Biden’s 306 to 232 win.

Rachel is a UM grad working in the MTPR news department.
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