U.S. Reps. Fred Keller and Glenn Thompson are among eight Republican Pennsylvania congressmen who will not vote to certify the state’s electors in support of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 6

Reps. Keller, R-Kreamer, and Thompson, R-Howard, are joined by Reps. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas; Scott Perry, R-Carroll Township; Lloyd Smucker, R-West Lampeter Township; John Joyce, R-Altoona; Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pittsburgh, and Mike Kelly, R-Butler, in in signing a letter opposing the certification.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican who represents the Bucks County-based 1st Congressional District, did not sign the letter.

Rep. Keller’s congressional district includes Lycoming and surrounding counties, plus a portion of Centre County.

Rep. Thompson’s district includes a large portion of Centre County and multiple counties to the west of there.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden beat President Donald Trump by more than 80,000 votes to carry the Keystone State and its 20 electoral votes. Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar have certified the results and the Electoral College awarded the state to Biden when it met in Harrisburg last month. Despite that, Trump and his allies have continued to allege the race was stolen. Last month, Kelly, of northwestern Pennsylvania, unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to set aside Pennsylvania’s election results, a move that would have resulted in the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of voters statewide.

State officials argue that there has been no proof of any widespread voter fraud. The lawmakers who signed the statement won re-election on Nov. 3 under the same ground rules. They have not contested the results of their own successful campaigns, nor those in the Legislature or statewide row offices.

Nonetheless, Keller, Thompson and their colleagues allege “unlawful actions” by the state as follows:

• Accepting ballots past 8 p.m. on Election Day.

• Not properly requiring signatures to match those on mail-in ballots or requiring dates; Meanwhile, the matching of signatures was required at a polling site.

• Authorizing the curing of mail-in ballots with less than a 24-hours’ notice; Only some counties were informed and adhered to this order leaving voters treated unequally from county to county.

• Authorizing the use of unsecure drop boxes, which is not permitted in statute.

• Prohibiting certified poll watchers overseeing the canvassing of ballots in Philadelphia.

“The United States Constitution is unambiguous in declaring that state legislatures are the entity with authority to set election procedure. ‘Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof…’

In addition, ‘Article 2, Section 1, Clause 2: Each state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors…’

“Unfortunately, the many unlawful actions undertaken by the Pennsylvania Governor’s office, the Secretary of State, and what has been described as a rogue Pennsylvania Supreme Court exceeded and circumvented the state legislature’s clear constitutional authority,” the congressmen said. “These unlawful actions were taken without the authority or consent of the Pennsylvania state legislature. These are facts, and they are indisputable.”

The group also takes issue with state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, arguing that he “… did nothing with regard to these unlawful activities. Not one inquiry, no questioning, and certainly no investigations. Not to mention that hundreds, if not thousands, of affidavits outlining election complaints and potential fraud were documented, submitted, and ignored. The Pennsylvania election could be summed up as a free-for-all with no oversight and different standards applied throughout the Commonwealth. It is also very apparent that the unlawful actions described were concentrated in heavily populated, Democrat-led counties.”

They continued, “By definition, such unlawful, unregulated, and inconsistent activities resulted in a highly questionable and inaccurate vote total. The scope of these inaccuracies cannot be known until the legal ballots are identified and counted, and the illegal ballots are disqualified. This has not been done.

“Therefore, the state’s official certification of electors was based upon a flawed system and an inaccurate vote count. Thus, very possibly resulting in an erroneous certification.

Until the “unlawful practices “are acknowledged and corrected,” the representatives said they “cannot agree to support electors chosen based upon an inaccurate total vote count. The voters of Pennsylvania deserve integrity in the election process and equal protection under the law.”

“This very unfortunate, volatile, and distressing situation is due to the lack of respect and regard for the law and the U.S. Constitution as well as the Pennsylvania State Constitution. Additionally, the failure of Pennsylvania’s justice system to seek the truth, rather than stay silent, allowed these irregular, unlawful actions to create a high level of mistrust in the process as well as a potentially flawed outcome,” they added.

The GOP lawmakers concluded, “The one thing that all voters, regardless of party affiliation, can all agree upon is that we must have election integrity. That is the only way to ensure trust in our elections and it is accomplished by adhering to our Constitution and the law.”