Two Republican congressmen whose districts include Butler County have signed a letter criticizing Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar over their handling of the Nov. 3 election.

The letter Saturday signed by the entire GOP congressional delegation also called for Shapiro to recuse himself from election matters and implored Boockvar to follow a recent U.S. Supreme Court order to keep separate mail-in ballots that arrived after Election Day.

“From last minute guidance provided to the counties on the eve of the election, to the attorney general playing dual roles as a political candidate and legal arbiter with a vested personal interest, to volunteer legal observers being prevented from having access to vote counting locations,” the letter said, “we believe these conflicts and irregularities have greatly eroded public trust in the commonwealth's electoral system.”

Signing the letter were Reps. Mike Kelly, R-16th; Glenn Thompson, R-15th; Guy Reschenthaler, R-14th; John Joyce, R-13th; Fred Keller, R-12th; Lloyd Smucker, R-11th; Scott Perry, R-10th; Dan Meuser, R-9th; and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st.

The letter was addressed to Gov. Tom Wolf, Shapiro and Boockvar.

In response, Ellen Lyon, deputy director of press relations for the Department of State, said the department followed state and federal election law in counting every vote.

“Allegations of fraud and illegal activity have been repeatedly debunked and dismissed by the courts,” Lyon said. “Election officials at the state and local level, Republican and Democrat, worked tirelessly amid a pandemic, so voters could decide this election.”

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania on Friday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to prevent late-arriving mail-in ballots from being added to the state's election tallies.

That request came after Boockvar on Oct. 28 instructed county officials to segregate late-arriving ballots. On Nov. 1, she provided updated guidance, advising counties to count the mail-in ballots, but keep those totals separate.

Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania, in his decision Friday to grant the Republicans a temporary order, said it was not clear if all 67 counties in the state were complying with Boockvar's guidance.

The Republican congressmen's letter raised similar concerns.

On Sunday, Shapiro advised the Supreme Court, in a letter, that all counties in the state are complying with the order.

“At the time (Boockvar) filed her response (to the Republican request for the court order) earlier (Saturday), 63 of Pennsylvania's counties had affirmatively confirmed their understanding and intention to follow the secretary's October 28, 2020 and November 1, 2020 guidance,” the letter said.

“Since the filing, the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth has confirmed that the remaining four Pennsylvania counties have similarly confirmed their understanding and intention to follow that guidance.”

Lyon said the guidance Boockvar issued was consistent both times it was sent, calling for the segregation of ballots and the continued segregation after they were counted.

“Justice Alito ordered counties to comply with the secretary's guidance,” Lyon said.

According to the guidance on Oct. 28, the ballots will be counted, and in a later section details the extent of segregating the ballots.

“These ballots shall be maintained by the county board in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,” the guidance said.

Lyon said the department will continue to protect the democratic election process.

“Pennsylvania is going to fight every single attempt to disenfranchise voters,” she said. “Pennsylvania will count every vote.”

Additionally, the congressmen in their letter took Shapiro to task for social media posts he made prior to the election.

The attorney general came under fire online for taking to Twitter on Halloween and posting: “If all the votes are added up in PA, (President Donald) Trump is going to lose. That's why he's working overtime to subtract as many votes as possible from this process.

“For the record, he's 0-6 against us in court. We've protected voting rights. Now, ignore the noise—vote!”

The letter said, “Statements made by Pennsylvania's attorney general, including social media posts calling the outcome of the election, prior to the tabulation of a single vote, are troubling and highlight the attorney general's inability to maintain impartiality and to separate his sworn duties from his political desires.

“We believe that due to this conflict, the attorney general must recuse himself from all future election proceedings and appoint an impartial designee moving forward.”

The GOP congressmen also wrote of their concern about “the integrity of the election and continued attempts by the administration and its officials to put their thumbs on the scale in pursuit of what they believe should be a preordained outcome.”

The actions, the letter said, “continue to chip away at the foundation of our representational democracy and challenges the citizens of Pennsylvania's faith in their government.”

Emails sent to Shapiro seeking comment were not immediately returned Monday.