Graham vows Senate Judiciary will investigate 'voting irregularities'
By Celine Castronuovo - 11/07/20 02:38 PM EST
Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he would investigate “all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct†after receiving a sworn affidavit from a Pennsylvania postal worker alleging officials devised a plan to backdate mail ballots.
The senator’s remarks came less than two hours after The Associated Press and other news outlets officially projected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the winners in the race for White House.
President Trump has since refused to concede, repeating his claims without evidence that there have been several cases of voter fraud as part of a Democratic effort to steal the election from him.
In a press release, Graham stated that he had received a sworn affidavit from the Trump campaign provided by Richard Hopkins, a postal worker from Erie, Pa.
In the affidavit, Hopkins alleges that Erie Postmaster Robert Weisenbach told workers he was “back-dating the postmarks on the ballots to make it appear as though the ballots had been collected on November 3, 2020 despite them in fact being collected on November 4 and possibly later.â€
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Keystone state could count mail-in ballots that are received as late as Friday of this week, as long as they were postmarked on Nov. 3, Election Day.
In response, Graham wrote in the release that “it is imperative that all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct be investigated to ensure the integrity of the 2020 elections.â€
“The presidential election remains close in multiple states, and as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct will be taken seriously,†he continued. “I will not allow credible allegations of voting irregularities or misconduct to be swept under the rug.â€
The top Republican lawmaker added that he would be “calling on the Department of Justice to investigate these claims.â€
“I’ll also be in contact with the Postmaster General, requesting he to look into these allegations, ones that may follow, and help secure the testimony of Mr. Hopkins,†Graham continued.
“Every American should want our election processes to work accurately, and given the recency of such a large volume of mail-in voting, that will require oversight,†Graham added. “Election outcomes are not determined by media outlets but certified, accurate vote counts.â€
This remark from Graham echoed Trump’s statement following Saturday’s election results, in which he claimed that news networks were helping Biden “falsely†pose as the winner.
NBC, CNN, ABC and the AP all called the race for Biden shortly before 11:30 a.m. Saturday after a grueling vote count that had the country waiting for a result for days after Tuesday’s vote. Fox News called the race for Biden a short while later after declaring him the winner in Pennsylvania and Nevada.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/524963-graham-vows-senate-judiciary-will-investigate-voting-irregularities
