Here's where Republican senators stand on objecting to the Electoral College

The normally perfunctory joint session of Congress in which both chambers certify the Electoral College results will be anything but, as a dozen Republican senators on Wednesday plan to object to President-elect Joe Biden's victory. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, was the first senator to announce he'd object. His announcement, which came last Wednesday, was an important domino to fall because an objection can only be heard during this joint session if it's in writing and signed by a member of both chambers of Congress. 

The senator from Missouri said he would object to the certification because "some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws," and because of "the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden."

"At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections," he said, even though federal and state officials, including former Attorney General William Barr, have repeatedly said they have not seen fraud at the level necessary to influence the outcome of the election. "But Congress has so far failed to act."In the days that followed, 11 other GOP senators announced their intention to object. The group, led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, includes Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana, Steve Daines of Montana, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, John Kennedy of Louisiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and four Republican senators who took office on Sunday, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

"Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed," the senators said in a statement. "By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes." 

The group called for the appointment of an “electoral commission” with full investigatory authority to carry out a 10-day emergency audit of the Nov. 3 election results in the states where President Trump and his allies have alleged fraud.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, may also object to a state's certification separately, according to Fox News. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, announced on Monday night, the eve her runoff election in Georgia, that she, too, would object to the certification.

The bulk of the Senate Republican Conference is not on board with the plan, with dissent starting at the top. Six weeks after Election Day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly congratulated Biden, referring to him as "president-elect," and he urged his caucus not to challenge the results, even though about a quarter of them will defy that order.

A bipartisan group of senators in a statement and condemned the planned objections. 

"All challenges through recounts and appeals have been exhausted. At this point, further attempts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election are contrary to the clearly expressed will of the American people and only serve to undermine Americans’ confidence in the already determined election," wrote Republicans Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah, along with Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mark Warner of Virginia, and Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats.

Other Republicans who have also said they are not on board with the objection plan include Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Cornyn of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Lee of Utah, Rob Portmanof Ohio, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Richard Shelby of Alabama, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, John Thune of South Dakota, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, an ardent supporter of the president, denounced Cruz's plan but has said he "look[s] forward to hearing from and will listen closely to the objections of my colleagues in challenging the results of this election."

There is also a group of Republican senators who have not said if they'll object to the certification. The group includes Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Joni Ernst of Iowa, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Jim Risch of Idaho, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rick Scott of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Dan Sullivan of Alaska (although he has said he's “very dubious” of the effort), Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Todd Young of Indiana. 

The senators who object to the certification will be doing so in conjunction with an estimated 140 House Republicans. In doing so, they can force two-hour long deliberations and subsequent votes. Their efforts will almost certainly fail based on the number of Republicans who are not planning to go along with the endeavor. 

Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as the president of the Senate, will preside over the proceeding, as Biden did when Congress certified Trump's victory in January 2017.

While previous reports said Trump was frustrated with Pence, believing his vice president was not sufficiently committed to helping him overturn the election, the vice president's chief of staff issued a statement over the weekend saying, "The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th."

But the statement notably omitted a pledge by Pence that he will try to reject the electors from the six battleground states that Biden won, which Trump and his supporters contend, without evidence, were riddled with fraud — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.exas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert sued the vice president, arguing that he had the power to do this. Gohmert's lawsuit, filed last month, aimed to provide Pence with “exclusive authority” to determine which Electoral College votes are certifiable, arguing that the vice president has the "sole discretion" to determine the legitimacy of votes via the 12th Amendment. A federal judge tossed the lawsuit on Friday, days after the Justice Department, which represented the vice president, sought to have it dismissed.

Note from USA Today: U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Kernodle, who is a Trump appointee, said Gohmert and a group of other Republicans on the lawsuit "lack standing."