The Pennsylvania Republican Party is pushing back against the explosive report from The Atlantic that said the GOP-run legislature is already strategizing how to overturn the statewide results if Trump loses.
The scheme — if it were to happen — could look like this: If Biden is certified as the winner in Pennsylvania, the Democratic governor will follow proper procedure and approve a pro-Biden slate of electors for the Electoral College.
But, according to The Atlantic, GOP lawmakers have explored what powers the state legislature has to declare that the results were tainted and instead appoint a pro-Trump slate of electors. In this extreme and unprecedented scenario, Congress would have to decide which slate reflected the will of the people.
The Atlantic quoted Pennsylvania GOP chair Lawrence Tabas, who said this scheme “is one of the available legal options set forth in the Constitution” and that he had “mentioned it” to the Trump campaign and hopes “they’re thinking about it.” Tabas is correct that the US Constitution gives state legislatures the power to regulate how electors are chosen, though legal scholars aren’t sure if they can change the rules mid-election.
In an emailed statement to CNN, Vonne Andring, executive director of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, said Tabas was asked about these extreme election scenarios and responded “with facts.” Andring criticized the article, saying, “The Atlantic used that interview to spin an out of context, pre-emptive farce.” In the statement, Andring did not definitively rule out using the legislature to overturn the statewide results.
“As the Chairman said, all of us want a swift, accurate result,” Andring said.
The statement also noted that Republicans, who control the legislature, recently passed a bill that would speed up ballot-processing. That provision has bipartisan support, but the bill has other measures that are opposed Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, like banning new dropboxes and easing rules on partisan poll-watchers.
In response to the reporting about post-election maneuvering in Pennsylvania, CNN election law analyst Rick Hasen wrote a column saying these efforts were a “pre-emptive attack on the vote-count.” He condemned efforts like the one in Pennsylvania as “part of a play to grab power if the election is close enough.”