Masked, and from a distance, Pa. electors cast their 20 votes for Biden, Harris

Pennsylvania’s 20 presidential electors cast their ballots for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday afternoon, capping a tumultuous and often chaotic six weeks that saw President Donald Trump and his allies launch an unprecedented legal and rhetorical assault on the nation’s electoral system.

Meeting in the ornate Forum Auditorium, just across the street from the Capitol, instead of their usual spot on the floor of the state House, the masked electors, who observed social distancing guidelines as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage statewide, took about 45 minutes to perform their constitutionally prescribed duties.

Allegheny Co. Exec Rich Fitzgerald confirms that electors have respectively cast 20 votes each for @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris.

— ByJohnLMicek (@ByJohnLMicek) December 14, 2020

“Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral College, where the framers crafted this as a compromise between those who advocated for direct election of the president and those who wanted the congress to appoint the president,” said Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, as she opened the proceedings shortly after 12 p.m. “Our constitution has proven to be remarkable durable and resilient, and the hope of liberty throughout the world.”

The electors were a cross-section of Democratic bold-faced names, including Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale and other luminaries.

The meetings, which took place in state Capitols across the country, continued as Trump and his allies, continued to launch baseless attacks against the election results. As Pennsylvania’s electors met, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court rejected an effort by Trump’s campaign to invalidate 200,000 votes from the state’s two, largest cities, the New York Times reported.

I just cast my electoral vote in Pennsylvania for @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris.

The American people voted ✔️
Joe Biden got the most votes ✔️
States certified election results ✔️
The electoral college cast votes ✔️

Next up: Inauguration Day 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/XL74bXMYWE

— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) December 14, 2020

Despite Monday’s seemingly preordained result, Pennsylvania Republicans met Monday to cast what they described as a “conditional vote” for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to “to preserve any legal claims that may be presented going forward,” the campaign’s Pennsylvania spokeswoman, Bernie Comfort, said in a statement.

The procedural vote did not represent “an effort to usurp or contest the will of the Pennsylvania voters.”

Republicans are instead banking on Congress to do that for them. Last week, two top GOP leaders in the state House sent letters to Congress asking them to oppose the state’s electoral vote, when it meets in joint session on Jan. 6.

At least one lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-10th District, said he intends to honor that request, though the effort is not expected to be successful.