GOP split on plan to object
At least 2 New Yorkers among group seeking to overturn election result
New York Republicans in Congress are divided over whether they will object on Wednesday to the certification of the 2020 election or vote to uphold states’ Electoral College votes.
The split mirrors a greater rift in the party that has transformed what is usually an arcane procedural vote by Congress into a litmus test of the support for President Donald J. Trump, mail-in voting and other election procedures. Wednesday’s vote is not expected to keep Trump in office or delay President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, but will produce hours of debate over how the presidential election was conducted.
Thirteen Republican senators have announced they will object to certifying the election results. The Regional Reporters Association has identified at least 52 GOP representatives who have said in the past few days they will object, while two GOP lawmakers told CNN they believe the number is at least 140.
Of the seven New York Republican representatives, two have stated they will object, two will uphold the existing election result and three have declined to reveal their position.
U.S. Rep. Tom Reed of Corning said Tuesday that he will not object on Wednesday, joining Rep. John Katko of Syracuse in that camp.
“The U.S. Constitution calls upon our election of the president to be done at the state level and if there are issues of fraud, if there are issues of whether or not those elections are carried out lawfully, they are to be adjudicated at the state level,” Reed said, noting his own personal support for Trump. “When it comes to reviewing and objecting to the electors, essentially our role in Congress is to respect those electors that are sent to us by the respective states. ... There is no state Legislature that has asked us to intervene in Congress in this process.”
Reps. Elise Stefanik of Schuylerville and Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island both said Monday they would raise objections.
“I don’t see a situation where I don’t object to at least some of these states but I am going to be thoughtful and mindful and listen to the entire debate on Wednesday,” Malliotakis said in a radio interview with Kevin Mccullough on Monday.
Rep. Lee Zeldin of Shirley, who served on Trump’s impeachment defense team with Stefanik, is likely to raise objections and has criticized the integrity of the election and mail-in voting procedures on Twitter. But he has not publicly made his position known yet and did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino of Sayville, who was sworn in for his first term on Sunday, also did not respond to a request for comment. Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.
Stefanik discussed her decision to object to the election on the radio program Hotline with former Watertown Mayor Jeff Graham on Tuesday.
“I spent a lot of time doing my research about irregularities that occurred in states like Pennsylvania, like Georgia, like Michigan and Wisconsin and I believe the American people need to hear this debate not just about this election but to make sure in the future we have free, fair and constitutional elections in this country that people have faith in,” she said. She said she believes there were “unconstitutional actions by unelected state officials not following state laws.”
Despite many lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign and other groups since Nov. 3, so far no judge has ruled that widespread election fraud occurred or identified illegal actions that could have changed the outcome of the election.
New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs called for Stefanik’s resignation Monday over her decision to object. On Tuesday, both Stefanik and New York Republican Party Chair Nick Langworthy claimed Jacobs was attacking Stefanik because she is a critic of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
“I do think Gov. Cuomo runs the Democratic party like the Democratic party bosses so I take it as a compliment,” she pushed back. “I certainly am not the only member of Congress who is standing up for the Constitution and their constituents, but I’m proud of my position.”
On Wednesday, each states’ electoral votes will be considered and lawmakers will have a chance to object state by state, with each objection by a representative and senator prompting debate. With a Democratic majority in the House, no objection is expected to be sustained by Congress.