<span style="color: #222222;">Republican Senator Josh Hawley today pledged to challenge Democrat President-elect Joe Biden's victory when Congress convenes to officially tally the electoral votes, which could trigger a lengthy debate in the Senate but reportedly has no chance of overturning the results.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Hawley, the junior senator from Missouri who was elected in 2018, said in a statement, that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. At the very least, Congress should investigate, he said in a statement. Hawley did not provide any evidence for his claims.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">A number of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives have said they plan to object to the election results, but Hawley is the first U.S. senator to do so.  Biden beat President Donald Trump by a 306-232 margin in the Electoral College. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Under the Electoral College system of America 'electoral votes' are allotted to states and the District of Columbia based on their congressional representation. Congress is due to make the Electoral College tally official today in what is largely a ceremonial session.</span><br />''