All four Virginia Republican congressmen voted in support of objections to at least one state’s electors, joining 147 Republican representatives from across the country, according to The Washington Post. Congressmen Ben Cline (R-VA-06), Bob Good (R-VA-05), Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), and Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) all voted to support objections to Pennsylvania’s electors. Of the four, Wittman was the only one who did not also support a challenge to Arizona’s electors. The objections for both states were defeated, and objections to other states did not have enough support in the 117th Congress to go to a vote.
Wittman said his oath to defend the Constitution motivated him.
“That oath led me to vote against certifying the electors from Pennsylvania because of unconstitutional changes to the administration of the 2020 general election, which bypassed the constitutionally vested power of the state legislature and fundamentally changed the state’s election procedures. Simply put, the evidence is clear that Pennsylvania failed to follow the laws and constitutional tenets that govern its elections.”
Wittman added, “I don’t believe the evidence presented during the debate of Arizona electors rose to the level of unconstitutionality observed in Pennsylvania, and therefore I voted to certify the electors from Arizona.”
In his statement, Wittman also condemned the invasion of the Capitol building. “What happened on Wednesday in our nation’s Capital is a blemish on this nation and I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the acts of violence and destruction that occurred at the Capitol building. We may disagree on policy and who we support for President, but this country is built on law and order. We must continue to stand for the great American tradition of peaceful disagreement and debate rather than anarchy and violence.”
Newly-elected Good said in a statement, “The lawlessness that broke down our Capitol doors is a reminder of how sacred our duty is to uphold the rule of law. It is Congress’ constitutional responsibility to evaluate the validity of electoral votes and either accept them as legitimate casts or object to them as questionable or unreliable. Last night, I continued with my objection to the submission of electors’ from six states in question (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin).”
Neither Cline nor Griffith published statements on their votes, but early on Thursday morning during debate over Pennsylvania’s electors, Griffith objected to a speech made by Congressman Conor Lamb (D-PA-17.) Lamb said that lies, i.e. questioning the validity of the November election, led to the violence in the Capitol earlier Wednesday. Griffith objected, “The gentleman said that there were lies on this floor here today looking over this direction. I ask that those words be taken down.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) said Griffith’s objection was not timely, and a scuffle broke out between two other members of Congress after the exchange.
In his press release, Wittman concluded, “Again, my oath to this office is to defend the Constitution and faithfully discharge my duties. Regardless of my personal opinion of who I believe is best to lead this country, this is bigger than just this election. This is about upholding the Constitution and ensuring integrity and faith in elections to come. Americans’ concerns deserve to be heard; we must have faith in the electoral process and continue to take steps to ensure fair and free elections.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
