SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney strongly opposes a plan other Republican lawmakers are backing to reject certification of the presidential election results, attempting to further delay an official win for President-elect Joe Biden.

Romney said such congressional power is reserved for "the most extreme and unusual circumstances," and, "these are far from it."

On Saturday, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz issued a statement saying he and at least 11 other current and incoming Republican senators will reject the official certification of electors expected on Wednesday, "unless and until an emergency 10-day audit" of the results of the election can be conducted. The statement points to election results in 1876, when an Electoral Commission was appointed to resolve the dispute.

In his statement released Saturday afternoon, Romney said, "The egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic. More Americans participated in this election than ever before, and they made their choice."

Romney went on to say that in addition to the voice of the American people, President Donald Trump's attorneys have failed to make their case in the courts.

To date, no evidence of irregularity or proof of fraud has been found substantial enough to overturn the results in any of the battleground states.

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US Senator Cruz joins Republican block to object to Biden's victory

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday said he will spearhead a drive by nearly a dozen Republican senators to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's victory when Electoral College results are tallied in Congress on Jan. 6 — a largely symbolic move that has virtually no chance of preventing Biden from taking office.

Trump has yet to concede the race, the results of which put Biden markedly ahead. Biden won more than 7 million more votes than Trump nationally and won the Electoral College 306 to 232.

While the action won't likely change the outcome of the controversial 2020 election, it has the potential to elongate an already drawn-out process, which has led many to question the state of the country's democracy.

"Were Congress to actually reject state electors, partisans would inevitably demand the same any time their candidate had lost. Congress, not voters in the respective states, would choose our presidents," Romney said, arguing against the plan led by Cruz.

He also said the president's call for supporters to rally at the nation's Capitol when the certification is being decided has the "potential to lead to disruption and worse."

"I could never have imagined seeing these things in the greatest democracy in the world," Romney said. "Has ambition so eclipsed principle?"

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