Letter: Pennsylvania GOP Legislators Should Refuse to Be Sworn In

Recently, state Rep. Rich Irvin, whose 81st District includes portions of Centre and Mifflin counties, as well as the entirety of Huntingdon County, co-sponsored HR 1094. This resolution, introduced on Nov. 30, asked for the decertification of presidential electors and for the delaying of certification for statewide electoral contests due to numerous issues that are listed within the resolution. Most of these findings are from the recent Senate Majority Policy Committee held in Gettysburg.

Unfortunately for Rep. Irvin and his co-sponsors, if there are systemic issues within the electoral system in the Commonwealth, then these issues would also call into question their own re-election bids from 2020. There were no specific findings in the partisan committee that related to any reason that would be only specific to the presidential or statewide elections. Therefore, there is no reason that the decertification of the election should not also be applicable to electoral contests that were on a smaller scale, such as the entirety of all of the electoral contests held for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

If Rep. Irvin and his cosponsors truly believe that the election results should be disputed, then that means that all of the electoral votes from the Commonwealth should be under dispute. If the indictment is indeed against the entire Pennsylvania electoral process, then the representatives should not be allowed to pick and choose which elections should be under dispute. Additionally, as a representative of a county that leaned Democratic in the recent presidential election, and given that the resolution specifically seems to be implying that there were irregularities or improprieties in counties that lean Democratic, then this should specifically be applicable to the potential re-election of Rep. Irvin.

Due to the above, if Rep. Irvin and his co-sponsors truly believe that the results of the presidential and statewide elections should be disputed, then all of them need to refuse to be sworn in for the 2021-2022 Legislative Session. Additionally, all of them should immediately call for a special election for their respective districts. This is the only valid approach, and the only way that voters from the Commonwealth can be assured that a valid election was held.

I know that this course of action seems drastic. However, it is the only way that GOP representatives can restore faith in the electoral process of the Commonwealth. Furthermore, it would demonstrate a great deal of leadership to put the Commonwealth above their own personal, or partisan, benefit.

However, if Rep. Irvin and his co-sponsors allow themselves to be sworn in, then citizens of the Commonwealth will have no choice but to assume that the GOP representatives who co-sponsored this resolution will have been playing petty partisan games with our electoral process, while trying to undermine our democracy. It is my sincere hope that this not the case.

Thomas Kennedy
State College