The Electoral Count Act could be getting a makeover
Image: Henryk Sadura/Getty
A bipartisan group of 16 senators â including nine Republicans â unveiled a new agreement on Wednesday to reform the âarchaic and ambiguousâ Electoral Count Act of 1887.
đ A deeper dive⊠Led by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the bill would:
- Define the role of the vice president in the election certification process as merely symbolic.
- Eliminate a provision that theoretically allows state legislatures to override the popular vote by declaring a âfailed election.â
- Provide clear guidelines for the transfer of power between Election Day and inauguration.
- Set the threshold for the House and Senate to object to a stateâs electors at â of both chambers, up from a single member in each.
đŹ What theyâre saying: âIn four of the past six presidential elections, this process has been abused, with members of both parties raising frivolous objections to electoral votes. But it took the violent breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6 of 2021 to really shine a spotlight on the urgent need for reform,â Sen. Collins said in an address to Congress this week.
đ Looking ahead⊠The measure now heads to the Senate Rules Committee, which will hold a hearing on it "in the coming weeks," per Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). With nine Republican backers, it's on the cusp of getting enough GOP support to pass the Senateâs 60-vote threshold if all Dems end up voting in favor.
+Flash poll: Do you think Congress should pass the proposed reforms to the Electoral Count Act?
See a 360° view of what the media is saying â
Sprinkles from the Left
Some commentators argue that reforms to the Electoral Count Act need to pass ASAP in order to avoid a repeat of 2020 when former President Trump tried to take advantage of the lawâs ambiguity to overturn the results of a legitimate election.
- Others contend that Democrats should take whatever they can get when it comes to shoring up the security of Americaâs electoral system, after their attempts to pass voting rights legislation were shot down by Republicans.
- âA bill to prevent Trumpâs attempted coup is finally ready â and must passâ âWaPo Editorial Board
- âA clever plan to foil a 2024 coup attempt quietly advancesâ âGreg Sargent, The Plum Line
- âDemocrats should take yes for an answer on Electoral Count Act reformâ âJennifer Rubin, WaPo
- âââHow to Fix the Electoral Count Actâ âDaniel I. Weiner, Martha Kinsella and Katherine Scotnicki, Brennan Center for Justice
Sprinkles from the Right
Some commentators argue that the Electoral Count Act needs to be reformed in order to avoid a repeat of the showdown over the 2020 election results that pushed America to the brink of a constitutional crisis.
- Others contend that reform is needed to overcome the deep and structural issues codified in the Electoral Count Act, which in practice had the unintended effect of creating ambiguities that could be used to expand the role of Congress and the vice president in elections in ways contrary to the Constitution.
- A Promising New Electoral Count Act Reform Proposalâ âYuval Levin, director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute
- âReform the Electoral Count Actâ âJosiah M. Daniel III, Dallas Morning News
- âSusan Collins: Our Democracy Shouldnât Rest on a Rickety Lawâ âSen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
- âWe could again stand on the âbrink of constitutional crisisâ if we donât reform the Electoral Count Actâ âLisa Grow Sun, Deseret
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