Herrell will object to certifying Biden’s victory
New congresswoman one of about 10 reps protesting
One of the first actions Rep.-elect Yvette Herrell, R-N.M., will take as a sitting congresswoman will be to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
Herrell announced her intentions Thursday, days before she takes office as the only Republican member of New Mexico’s congressional delegation. The electoral votes will be counted in Congress on Jan. 6, a final procedural step before President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is affirmed.
A handful of Democratic lawmakers in 2017 objected to the results of the 2016 election. Their efforts were quickly shut down by then-Vice President Biden, who presided over the tally in his role as president of the Senate.
Herrell said that she’s objecting in part because of election-related actions taken in some states, including extending the absentee ballot deadlines, relaxing signature and identity verification requirements and mailing unsolicited absentee ballot requests, according to a statement she released Thursday.
With her objection, Herrell said she is also trying to call attention to “election meddling by Big Tech and the media” for censoring stories about Hunter Biden’s finances.
“Millions of Americans feel like this election was not conducted with integrity and fairness,” Herrell said in a statement. “As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, it is my duty to give the people a voice and ensure that legitimate concerns over the integrity of the presidential election are thoroughly heard and examined.”
The election’s validity has been widely accepted by election officials at both the state and federal levels. And efforts by the Trump campaign to challenge the results in court have been refused or rejected.
Officials with the Democratic Party of New Mexico called Herrell’s plans irresponsible and said that Herrell should be instead focusing on issues affecting New Mexico.
“Yvette Herrell has decided her personal political beliefs are more important than the opinions of millions of American voters. It is grossly irresponsible for an incoming congresswoman to be spreading dangerous misinformation about the recent election,” Marg Elliston, chair of the DPNM, said in a statement. “It undermines the legitimate democratic process.”
With the announcement, Herrell joins what is so far a relatively small number of Republican lawmakers who have announced their intention to object to the certification. Fox News reported this week that about 10 lawmakers, including Herrell, will object to the results.
Herrell last month also was one of about two dozen newly elected Republican members of the House who signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her to “promptly investigate the 2020 election irregularities.”