REUTERS-U.S.
Democratic lawmakers planned to challenge President-elect Donald Trump's
Electoral College victory on Friday in a largely symbolic move that is unlikely
to gain traction in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress but exposes
lingering dismay over a contentious election campaign.
The
electoral votes were to be opened before a joint session of Congress in what is
considered a formality for most presidential elections.
While Trump,
who is set to take office on Jan. 20, garnered more than the 270 electoral
votes required to win, Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly
3 million ballots. The election has been shadowed by concerns over Russian
attempts to influence the result in Trump's favor.
Trump, who
has repeatedly downplayed possible Russian interference, was due to receive a
U.S. intelligence report on the situation later on Friday. He told the New York
Times on Friday that the focus on the issue was a "political witch
hunt."
U.S.
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas plans to file an objection to
electoral votes submitted from her state, a spokesman confirmed. Politico
reported possible challenges also might come from fellow Democrats Ed
Perlmutter of Colorado, Bobby Scott of Virginia, John Conyers of Michigan and
Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
A member of
Congress needs at least one U.S. senator to back the objection and suspend the joint
session while the House of Representatives and Senate meet separately to debate
it.
House
Democratic leaders said they knew of no senator lined up behind such an effort.
However,
U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer said on CNN he expected a number of Democrats
to raise the issue of Russian hacking of Democratic groups during the
presidential campaign and question whether there was legitimate information
available to the electors when they voted for Donald Trump.
House
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said the Russian hacking concerns cast a pall
over the 2016 vote.
"That's
why people have some level of dismay today on the vote ... about the Electoral
College," Pelosi said at a news conference. "How much is known about
the foreign disruption of our election?"
Members of
the Electoral College convened last month in the 50 state capitals to cast
their votes for president and vice president and to submit them to Congress.
REUTERS
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