GOP Congressman Signs First Objection to States’ Certifications for Jan. 6 Electoral Challenge

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in an interview with "American Thought Leaders." The Epoch Times

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said Monday that he signed an objection to the electoral vote in six states ahead of the Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday.

“Promises made. Promises kept. Today I signed objections to tainted electoral college vote submissions” in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Brooks wrote.

“Senators? Time to sign on, too! America must not tolerate voter fraud & election theft that undermines our Republic!” Brooks wrote, echoing statements from President Donald Trump that fraud and irregularities cost him the election.

Brooks was the first member of Congress to announce he would challenge the electoral votes, telling The Epoch Times in November that Congress has the “absolute right” to decide the final outcome of a presidential election.

“Congress has the absolute right to reject the submitted Electoral College votes of any state, which we believe has such a shoddy election system that you can’t trust the election results that those states are submitting to us, that they’re suspect,” Brooks said in an interview at the time. “And I’m not going to put my name in support of any state that employs an election system that I don’t have confidence in.”

Several senators have since said they would challenge the vote.

The group includes Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Last Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) became the first to announce plans to object.

The session is the final step in the Electoral College process of certifying a president-elect. Taking place two weeks before Inauguration Day, the session sees the vice president, as president of the Senate, preside over members of Congress counting electoral votes.

Objections are allowed if they’re in writing and supported by at least one representative and at least one senator. If the conditions are met, objections trigger withdrawal from the joint session and a two-hour debate. The chambers then vote on the objection, and a states’ election certification is upheld with a majority vote in each chamber.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in a letter to Democrats, laid out a strategy for her caucus during the Joint Session. She claimed in a statement that Vice President Mike Pence—who is the president of the Senate—"presides over a Joint Session and calls the roll of states.”

Her statement suggested that House Democrats have been working on methods of how to defend against the electoral challenges lodged by GOP members of Congress in favor of President Donald Trump.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.