CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner is continuing to express concerns about the 2020 presidential election ahead of the U.S. Congress’ certification of state electors’ votes.
Warner, who previously voiced support for a lawsuit aimed at overturning election results in battleground states, said on Wednesday’s “MetroNews Talkline” there should be questions about what he considers issues in methods of voting.
“Whether that changes the outcome or not, that’s not the standard,” he said. “The standard is did fraud occur. Let’s uncover it, let’s correct it, then all of us can have assurance in the election process.”
Warner’s comments came three weeks after he appeared at a Dec. 9 “March for Trump” bus rally at the state Capitol, in which he was seen holding a “Stop the Steal” sign. Warner also previously declared support for a Texas-led lawsuit challenging the results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
West Virginia joined 15 other states in supporting the challenge. U.S. Reps. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., and Carol Miller, R-W.Va., were among 126 members of the House of Representatives who signed a brief in support of the lawsuit.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the matter, saying Texas did not demonstrate “a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.”
The Trump campaign has been unsuccessful in challenging election results in court.
Warner said states changed the rules of their elections because of the coronavirus pandemic, which affected the overall outcome.
“You don’t change the rules in the middle of a game,” he said. “That’s what I want to get back to.”
Electors voted former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as president-elect and vice president-elect respectively on Dec. 14. Warner said he will recognize Biden and Harris as such when Congress accepts the results.
“There’s no questions coming out of West Virginia,” Warner added. “Let’s just let the process run in each of those other states and get to the counting on the sixth and inauguration on the 20th.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced Wednesday he will challenge the certification process on Jan. 6, which would delay — but not prevent — the validation of the election.