The House just passed a bill that would make it harder to overthrow an election
2 years, 3 months ago

The House just passed a bill that would make it harder to overthrow an election

NPR  

The House just passed a bill that would make it harder to overthrow an election Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Alex Wong/Getty Images The House on Wednesday passed a set of electoral reforms aimed at shoring up ambiguities and archaic language in the presidential certification process, some of which former President Donald Trump and his allies tried to exploit in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Sponsor Message The 38-page bill would make a number of changes to the law that governs how Electoral College votes are submitted by states and then counted by Congress, known as the Electoral Count Act. That is literally what the Electoral Count Act is like," Rebecca Green, co-director of the election law program at the College of William & Mary, said in an interview with NPR earlier this year. During Wednesday's debate, Republicans in the House raised issues with how quickly the bill was brought to a vote but seemed open to the general idea of Electoral Count Act reform.

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History of this topic

The Josh Hawley Problem and Jan. 6, 2025
55 years ago

The Josh Hawley Problem and Jan. 6, 2025

Slate  

There are very few sure things, two weeks away from Election Day. Now, somewhat against all odds, Congress actually passed this law, the Electoral Count Reform Act, in 2022, that strengthened the system in really important ways. 1 is: Let’s imagine we’re following all of the procedures of the Electoral Count Reform Act, and because of delay, we don’t have …

How the Electoral Count Reform Act would block attempts to overturn the 2024 election
3 months, 2 weeks ago

How the Electoral Count Reform Act would block attempts to overturn the 2024 election

Raw Story  

In less than two months, voters in Ohio and around the country head to the polls. The Electoral Count Reform Act establishes concrete deadlines for state level certification between the election and the joint session in Congress. But Campaign Legal Center executive director Adav Noti explained some provisions were loose enough to allow Trump allies try upending the 2020 election’s …

Congress rebukes Trump with passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act
2 years ago

Congress rebukes Trump with passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act

Raw Story  

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives just ended their legislative year. Besides passing $1.7 trillion omnibus package to fund the government, lawmakers also tucked a measure in the package that sternly rebukes former President Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, along with his 187 minutes of inaction as his supporters carried …

US Congress passes new election rules in response to January 6
2 years ago

US Congress passes new election rules in response to January 6

Al Jazeera  

New provisions to US Electoral Count Act make it more difficult for politicians to prevent peaceful transfer of power. “This law goes a long way toward shutting down the avenues Trump and his allies tried to use in 2020, and could have been exploited in future elections.” On January 6, Trump targeted Congress’ ratification of the Electoral College vote. On …

Congress approves reform of Electoral Count Act, as urged by Jan. 6 committee
2 years ago

Congress approves reform of Electoral Count Act, as urged by Jan. 6 committee

LA Times  

President Trump speaks to Vice President Mike Pence from the Oval Office on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021. In a statement Friday, Biden hailed the provisions’ inclusion in the spending bill, calling it “critical bipartisan action that will help ensure that the will of the people is preserved.” It’s Congress’ most significant legislative response to Trump’s aggressive efforts to …

Congress passes election reform designed to ward off another Jan. 6
2 years ago

Congress passes election reform designed to ward off another Jan. 6

NPR  

Congress passes election reform designed to ward off another Jan. 6 Enlarge this image toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP Lawmakers have said over and over that they want to prevent another Jan. 6-style attack on the U.S. Capitol from ever happening again. The omnibus spending bill includes a section that would reform the Electoral Count Act, a …

Editorial: Congress must update Electoral Count Act to prevent another coup attempt
2 years, 2 months ago

Editorial: Congress must update Electoral Count Act to prevent another coup attempt

LA Times  

No matter what happens in the upcoming midterm elections, Congress should act before the end of this year to safeguard the nation from any more Trump-style attempts to overthrow the will of the voters. But other parts of Trump’s plot — such as pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to throw out legitimate electoral votes for Biden — involved interpretations of …

House passes bill to reform Electoral Count Act
2 years, 3 months ago

House passes bill to reform Electoral Count Act

CBS News  

The House on Wednesday passed a bill to reform the Electoral Count Act, an effort by Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and others to prevent another Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the counting of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. The Presidential Election Reform Act, The bill also increases the threshold …

House passes bill to overhaul Electoral Count Act in response to Jan. 6
2 years, 3 months ago

House passes bill to overhaul Electoral Count Act in response to Jan. 6

LA Times  

A mob loyal to then-President Trump breaches the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. The House has passed legislation to overhaul the rules for certifying the results of a presidential election as lawmakers accelerate their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and former President Trump’s failed attempt to remain in power. The bill, which is similar to bipartisan …

Senators say vote on election reform bill unlikely until after midterms
2 years, 4 months ago

Senators say vote on election reform bill unlikely until after midterms

LA Times  

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer hasn’t said when the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act would come to the Senate floor. On Sunday, Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the select committee investigating Jan. 6, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the Senate measure was “a good first start.” “We want to take a much broader …

A bipartisan Senate group announces a deal on reforming the Electoral Count Act
2 years, 5 months ago

A bipartisan Senate group announces a deal on reforming the Electoral Count Act

NPR  

A bipartisan Senate group announces a deal on reforming the Electoral Count Act Enlarge this image toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP After months of negotiations, a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday announced two proposals related to election administration, including one to reform the Electoral Count Act, a widely criticized 1887 law that governs the process of …

Trump attacks spur Congress to bolster electoral count law
2 years, 11 months ago

Trump attacks spur Congress to bolster electoral count law

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s relentless, false claims about the 2020 presidential election have sparked fresh urgency in Congress — and in both parties — for changing the Electoral Count Act to ensure no one can undo a future presidential election. “President Trump’s comments underscored the need for us to revise the Electoral Count Act, because they demonstrated the confusion in …

Democrats eye new strategy after failure of voting bill
2 years, 11 months ago

Democrats eye new strategy after failure of voting bill

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Democrats were picking up the pieces Thursday following the collapse of their top-priority voting rights legislation, with some shifting their focus to a narrower bipartisan effort to repair laws Donald Trump exploited in his bid to overturn the 2020 election. An overhaul of the Gilded Age statute could be Democrats’ best chance to address what they call an …

House panel issues first proposed reforms to Electoral Count Act after Jan. 6 attack
2 years, 11 months ago

House panel issues first proposed reforms to Electoral Count Act after Jan. 6 attack

NPR  

House panel issues first proposed reforms to Electoral Count Act after Jan. 6 attack Enlarge this image toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images Win McNamee/Getty Images A congressional committee has issued the first staff report on the Electoral Reform Act, a key target for lawmakers who are now weighing new legislative fixes to safeguard elections in the wake of the Jan. …

Congress may change this arcane law to avoid another Jan. 6
3 years ago

Congress may change this arcane law to avoid another Jan. 6

NPR  

Congress may change this arcane law to avoid another Jan. 6 Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images It's a law that has been described as "almost unintelligible," "arcane" and "extremely complex." Sponsor Message Poorly written legislation The Electoral Count Act came as a reaction to the presidential election of 1876, which saw Democrat Samuel Tilden …

As the For the People Act voting bill is debated, Republicans in dozens of states push restrictions
3 years, 9 months ago

As the For the People Act voting bill is debated, Republicans in dozens of states push restrictions

LA Times  

A landmark federal voting rights measure debated in a Senate committee Wednesday comes as Republicans in dozens of statehouses are pushing local legislation that would make it harder for many Americans to vote. The bill has drawn criticism from Florida ACLU political director Kirk Bailey, who said in a statement that the proposals would make “administering elections in Florida more …

House passes sweeping voting rights bill over GOP opposition
3 years, 10 months ago

House passes sweeping voting rights bill over GOP opposition

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation Wednesday over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation. The bill is a powerful counterweight to voting rights restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s repeated false …

House Passes Extensive Election And Campaign Finance Overhaul Bill
5 years, 10 months ago

House Passes Extensive Election And Campaign Finance Overhaul Bill

NPR  

House Passes Extensive Election And Campaign Finance Overhaul Bill Enlarge this image toggle caption Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images The House passed an extensive bill Friday that would overhaul the way Americans vote and take aim at the money currently flowing through the U.S. political system. The bill was dubbed the …

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