CHARLESTON, WV (AP)- On the day West Virginia formally certified its November election results, state leaders backed an improbable lawsuit to invalidate presidential race results in four battleground states that President Donald Trump lost.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Wednesday he is filing in support of a Texas lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate 62 Electoral College votes for President-Elect Joe Biden from Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
If those 62 Electoral Votes are invalidated, it would be enough to swing the election to Trump. The lawsuit from the Texas attorney general, Republican Ken Paxton, repeats a litany of false, disproven and unsupported allegations about mail-in ballots and voting in the four battlegrounds.
The news came after Gov. Jim Justice, who is yet to congratulate Biden as president-elect, said Trump called him to discuss the lawsuit. He said he encourages Morrisey to join Texas’ attempt.
“I’m sure our attorney general will make the right move,” said Justice, a big Trump ally.
Secretary of State Mac Warner on Wednesday declared the state’s election results, becoming the last in the nation to certify the winner of the presidential race. He said the Texas lawsuit is a “novel approach” and supported letting the courts decide.
The courts have already dismissed a litany of election complaints as Trump continues to tweet that results should be overturned. Legal experts have dismissed the Texas filing as a long shot.
“I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to carefully consider Texas’ and the states’ requests,” Morrisey said in a statement.
Trump won 68.63% of the vote in the West Virginia presidential race. His popularity propelled down-ballot Republicans to pick up 20 seats in the state legislature, greatly strengthening their majority.
Biden officially secured enough electors to win the White House on Friday when California certified its presidential election results. He locked up 306 electors after Hawaii certified its results on Tuesday.
While certifications of election results are typically arcane formalities, they have seen greater attention this year due to the president’s attempt to sow distrust in the election process.
