A mid-Michigan member of Congress says he does not yet accept that President-elect Joe Biden will, in fact, serve as the next President of the United States.
“I don’t accept that Joe Biden won anything yet until we’ve exhausted all the resources that are legal,” Rep. Tim Walberg (R) told 6 News outside the Capitol on Tuesday. “To make sure that legal votes are counted, and that illegal votes aren’t counted.”
Walberg made his statements despite the fact that enough states have certified their elections that would give Biden then 270 electoral votes he needs to become president.
The Electoral College is scheduled to meet in state capitals across the nation to vote next week. Congress will formally count those votes in January. But 49 states have certified their election results as of Tuesday, December 8th, and according to CBS News, Congress is compelled to accept those results. Even if the 50th state, Wisconsin, were to flip to Democrat to Republican, it would not change the outcome of the race.
The Associated Press and many other news organizations say Biden won 306 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 232.
Results also show the former Vice President won the overall race by around 7 million votes.
“I don’t accept that Joe Biden won anything yet until we’ve exhausted all the resources that are legal.”
Rep. tim walberg
(r) michigan’s 7th district
But Walberg, who represents Michigan’s 7th District, says he has “concerns” about the way the election was run in many states, including Michigan – that lead him to question the results.
“We’ve seen concerns – what we have seen in Michigan – in Wayne County and Detroit in the counting process. What we’ve seen in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, that ought to cause us some concerns,” he said.
Walberg did not elaborate about those concerns, and state and federal courts across the nation have not found any evidence of fraud or ruled in favor of the people who say there was.
Walberg also says his concerns need to be addressed so people feel confident in the results of future elections.
“I want to see President Trump in a second term,” he said. “But if not, then I want to make sure that our elections from here on out are done in a way that’s legal and all of our votes that are done legally count.”
Walberg wouldn’t say whether he supports a move by a fellow Republican to challenge the electoral votes on the floor of the House, but he said he doesn’t “see that coming.”
“I think we have to at a point in time accept that we’ve done our best efforts to conclude the election appropriately and I’ll remain watching,” he said.
