- The Washington Times - Monday, January 4, 2021

Sen. David Perdue, Georgia Republican, has sided with Republicans planning to object to the presidential electoral certification Wednesday, calling it the last chance for lawmakers to get to the bottom of the “huge irregularities” in the 2020 race.

“There are huge irregularities in Georgia, they need to be investigated, and they need to be corrected, in my opinion,” Mr. Perdue said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Mr. Perdue, who faces Democrat Jon Ossoff in Tuesday’s Senate runoff, had previously sought a state investigation on the integrity of the 2020 election in Georgia and called on Nov. 9 for the resignation of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

“When I first saw the magnitude of the irregularities back in early December about our November race, I called for the resignation of our secretary of state,” Mr. Perdue said. “I repeatedly called for a special session of the General Assembly to investigate. None of that happened.”

As a result, he said, “the only thing left for the president is for us to object, and I agreed that I would do that.”

The party is split on whether to object to the certification: Twelve GOP senators have announced they will do so, as have dozens of House Republicans, while other Republicans argue that certifying the Electoral College vote is the responsibility of the states, not Congress.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, and 10 other senators have called for a 10-day audit of election irregularities in states where the vote has been disputed by the Trump campaign and others, saying it could be wrapped up before the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration.

Mr. Perdue said he will be unable to vote one way or the other on the Electoral College certification: The new Senate was sworn in Sunday, before the Tuesday double-runoff election in Georgia, which will determine control of the Senate.

“The technical problem is that I won’t be certified until this election is certified, some week to 10 days after the election, when we win on Tuesday, but I’m encouraging my colleagues to object,” he said. “This is something that the American people demand right now.”

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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