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By Natalie Anderson, Salisbury Post

Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican who represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional district, including Stanly County, announced on Sunday he would object later this week to certifying the Electoral College votes of certain states cast for the 2020 general election.

Members of Congress will meet in a joint session on Wednesday to count Electoral College votes following the 2020 presidential election. The Electoral College met in mid-December to certify Biden’s 306-232 victory over President Donald Trump.

“The American people need to have confidence in the integrity of our election process. Currently, millions of people do not trust the outcome of this presidential election because there is incontrovertible evidence of voter irregularity — if not outright fraud — in multiple states,” Hudson said in a statement posted on his website.

Hudson added that election laws were changed in numerous states, including extending the deadline for absentee by mail ballots, adding unsecured drop box collection sites and changes to signature verification measures.

Hudson is joining a number of members of the U.S. House and a group of 11 sitting and incoming Republican senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who announced Saturday that they will join Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, to object Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana will all join Cruz and Hawley in the objection. Four newly sworn in senators plan to join them, including Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, according to the joint statement.

In North Carolina, Hudson is joined by Rep. Ted Budd, a Republican whose 13th district now covers all of Rowan County, and Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a Republican whose district covers the western part of the state, who also represents parts of Rowan County. Hudson and Budd also were among the more than 120 Republicans who signed an amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit in December seeking to overturn 2020 general election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Supreme Court threw out the suit Dec. 11.

In December, former U.S. Att. Gen. William Barr said the U.S. Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread election fraud that would change the results of the election.

In his statement, Hudson expressed concern for the “impact big tech bias and censorship had on this election.” He specifically cited “unprecedented suppression of information” such as the New York Post’s story about Hunter Biden’s alleged financial ties to foreign governments as well as “arbitrary flags” on individual posts and ideas on social media.

“For these reasons, I believe it is my constitutional duty to object to certifying the Electoral College votes of certain states that violated their own election laws,” Hudson said. “I know there are many who will disagree with my decision to object, and the hyper-partisan hysteria from some on the left and in the media is predictable. However, I am fighting to preserve the process that makes their disagreement with me possible in the first place.”

Hudson added that he wanted to be part of a “bipartisan solution to restore transparency and faith” in the election process.