Rep.-elect Cawthorn Joins Group Planning to Contest Election on Jan. 6

Rep.-elect Cawthorn Joins Group Planning to Contest Election on Jan. 6
In this screenshot from the RNC’s livestream of the 2020 Republican National Convention, Rep.-elect Madison Cawthorn addresses the convention. (Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
12/21/2020
Updated:
12/22/2020
Rep.-elect Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) announced Monday that he will object to electoral votes during the upcoming joint session of Congress.

Three days after he’s sworn in, Cawthorn, 25, told a crowd at a Turning Point USA event in Florida, he will join the group planning to file objections.

“When you look at what’s happened in a lot of these liberal swing states, that have liberal governors and liberal secretaries of state, you can see that they have broken the law and gone against our Constitution with this election. And so, because of that, on Jan. 6, as the people of western North Carolina sent me to do a job, I will be contesting the election,” he said.

Cawthorn, a political newcomer who will be one of the youngest members of Congress in history, added on Twitter: “The right to vote in a free and fair election is the cornerstone of our Republic. Attempts to subvert the Constitutional authority of state legislatures to conduct elections strikes at the very heart of representative government. I choose to stand in the breach, to fight for us.”

At least six people who will be in the House of Representatives on Jan. 6, 2021, have agreed to join in the contest, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala), the effort’s leader, told The Epoch Times.

Contests must have the support of at least one senator to be legitimate, but Brooks said he’s not worried about that.

“We’ve got more congressmen who are willing to object to Electoral College submissions by states with badly flawed election systems, than we have states to object to,” he said.

“In my opinion, at this moment, the issue is not whether there will be a senator who will join this effort on the Senate side. The issue is how many are going to join us.”

Vice President Joseph Biden (C), presides over the counting of the electoral votes from the 2016 presidential election during a joint session of Congress, in Washington on Jan. 6, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Vice President Joseph Biden (C), presides over the counting of the electoral votes from the 2016 presidential election during a joint session of Congress, in Washington on Jan. 6, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Critics say there is no concrete evidence of widespread fraud in the election and are challenging the notion of objecting to votes, four years after a slew of Democrat representatives did so during the session to count Electoral College submissions.

Brooks, a former prosecutor, said that he believes the evidence of voter fraud “is overwhelming and compelling.”

“I don’t think there is any question whatsoever, but that there has been a lot of voter fraud and election theft. So much, in fact, that it’s quite clear to me that this election has been stolen by the socialist Democrats,” he added.

Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) noted that there are numerous witnesses attesting to alleged fraud and pointed to surveillance footage appearing to show wrongdoing at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

“That’s why I feel it’s completely important and necessary for this to be challenged,” she told The Epoch Times earlier this month.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also announced at the Turning Point summit that he will join the group planning to object to the votes.

“I’m joining with the fighters in the Congress, and we are going to object to electors from states that didn’t run clean elections,” Gaetz said.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has declared victory in the 2020 election, but President Donald Trump is contesting the results through lawsuits. Because of that and other matters, The Epoch Times is not calling the race at this time.
Ivan Pentchoukov and Janita Kan contributed to this report.