By Taylor McKinnie, The Inter-Mountain
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A delegate from Elkins is among the seven Republican state delegates who introduced a resolution to the House of Delegates Sunday that, if adopted, could lead to the West Virginia Legislature not recognizing the “election of the Democrat candidate for President during the 2024 election cycle” if the presidential election is deemed “illegitimate.”
Elias Coop-Gonzalez, R-District 67, alongside the seven other delegates, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 203, which states that the “West Virginia Legislature shall not recognize an illegitimate presidential election.”
The resolution was introduced to the House on Sunday, and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and is awaiting further action.
State delegates Bill Ridenour, Margitta Mazzocchi, Henry Dillon, Todd Longanacre, Geoff Foster, Dave Foggin and Brandon Steele also authored the resolution.
House Concurrent Resolution 203’s preamble states that a constitutionally valid government can only exist when elections have no violence, threats of violence, manipulation, censorship, fraudulence or coercion.
Citing this year’s two assassination attempts against former president Donald Trump, the preamble claims that the “current Democrat-led regime has utterly failed, and continues to fail, in a suspicious manner, in its absolute duty to adequately protect the Republican nominee for president.” It also claims that there has been “abundant evidence” of voter fraud by “non-citizens” of the U.S.
If adopted, House Concurrent Resolution 203 states that “…the sovereign State of West Virginia declares it will not recognize an election for President if such election is enabled by illegal or fraudulent acts,” then citing the instances in which the state would declare the general election “illegitimate.”