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Oklahoma House, Senate Republicans Urge Congressional Delegation to Challenge Election Result

Several Republicans in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate are urging Oklahoma’s congressional delegation to challenge certification of the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6.

In letters they say were sent to Oklahoma’s U.S. senators and representatives on Tuesday, 24 House and 15 Senate Republicans say election law changes and violations intended to skew the election and illegal votes in swing states are disenfranchising Oklahoma voters. No evidence has been produced to support such claims.

Oklahoma state Rep. Jay Steagall shared their letter in a news release.

Dear Member of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation, We, the undersigned members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, find it appropriate, according to Article II Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, and necessary, in order to provide a republican form of government as guaranteed by Article IV Section 4, to insist that you challenge the certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6, 2021. Every State in our Union is dependent on the others to hold free, fair, and constitutional elections. When any State willfully violates our mutual contract - the U.S. Constitution – and/or their own State election laws [in order to skew the outcome of their election], the process and subsequent results shall not be dismissed or ignored. We must commit ourselves as a State to ensure our constituents’ votes are not disenfranchised, and we must hold accountable those who intend to harm us through election tampering.

Offices of Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford; Reps. Kevin Hern, Markwayne Mullin, Tom Cole and Frank Lucas; and incoming Rep. Stephanie Bice had not responded to a request for comment as of Wednesday morning.

Signing Steagall's letter were Reps. Ty Burns, Sherrie Conley, Denise Crosswhite Hader, Eddy Dempsey, Mike Dobrinski, Sheila Dills, Tom Gann, David Hardin, Brian Hill, Justin Humphrey, Gerrid Kendrix, T.J. Marti, Stan May, Kevin McDugle, Garry Mize, Jim Olsen, Randy Randleman, Eric Roberts, Sean Roberts, Todd Russ, David Smith, Wendi Stearman and Kevin West.

No House signer is in a senior leadership position. Dills, Mize and Steagall are listed as assistant floor leaders. Conley, Hardin and Olsen are listed as assistant majority whips.

Many of the same House Republicans joined a late November letter to Arizona lawmakers encouraging them to interfere in their state's election, going as far as appointing their own electors if necessary. Many of the same House Republicans also praised Attorney General Mike Hunter's support of a Texas lawsuit challenging the results of the election. The U.S. Supreme Court threw out that lawsuit earlier this month, saying Texas did not have standing to bring it.

State Sen. David Bullard was the lead on his chamber's letter. Signing it were Sens. Mark Allen, Micheal Bergstrom, George Burns, Nathan Dahm, Chuck Hall, Warren Hamilton, Shane Jett, James Leewright, Casey Murdock, Roland Pederson, Cody Rogers, Rob Standridge, Blake Stephens and Darrell Weaver.

Standridge is listed as majority whip, while Murdock is listed as assistant majority whip.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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