Republican State Legislatures Are Radicalizing Against Democracy
Jim Brewster was cutting up with his colleagues on the floor of the Pennsylvania state Senate, waiting to be sworn in for his fourth term in office, when all hell broke loose. Brewster won his November election by 69 votes and survived multiple legal challenges from his opponent, Republican Nicole Ziccarelli, who sought to have hundreds of mail-in ballots thrown out because voters hadn’t properly dated them. The state Supreme Court ruled against her in November, and on Dec. 16, the Pennsylvania Department of State certified Brewster’s victory. The drama, it seemed, was over.
But as Democrats lined up for swearing-in ceremonies, the mood suddenly changed inside the chamber, and it didn’t take long for Brewster to figure out why: The Republican state Senate majority was about to launch a last-ditch attempt to overturn his victory by refusing to seat him in the Senate.
It didn’t matter that the legal challenge had failed. Pennsylvania Republicans, who spent more than $1 million on futile efforts to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in November’s presidential election, were willing to ignore the court if it meant they might be able to gain one more seat they didn’t need to hold a majority in the state Senate.
“They knew exactly what they were doing,” Brewster said last week. “They were trying to steal the election.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-state-legislatures-pennsylvania-trump_n_60146d71c5b6aa4bad33f207
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