Posted on Jan 15, 2022
House panel issues first proposed reforms to Electoral Count Act after Jan. 6 attack
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https://www.npr.org/2022/01/14/ [login to see] /house-panel-issues-first-proposed-reforms-to-electoral-count-act-after-jan-6-att
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. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The Democratic-led House Administration Committee late Thursday rolled out the 31-page report on the Electoral Count Act of 1887, after months of review by a team of legal experts and staff. Lawmakers say the siege made clear that former President Donald Trump and other Republicans tried to exploit weaknesses in the law to give rise to efforts to overturn the results.
Committee staff said the dated law is "badly in need of reform," and issued more than a half dozen proposals, including dramatically raising the threshold for objections to a state's presidential election results and removing the vice president as the presiding officer.
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. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The Democratic-led House Administration Committee late Thursday rolled out the 31-page report on the Electoral Count Act of 1887, after months of review by a team of legal experts and staff. Lawmakers say the siege made clear that former President Donald Trump and other Republicans tried to exploit weaknesses in the law to give rise to efforts to overturn the results.
Committee staff said the dated law is "badly in need of reform," and issued more than a half dozen proposals, including dramatically raising the threshold for objections to a state's presidential election results and removing the vice president as the presiding officer.
House panel issues first proposed reforms to Electoral Count Act after Jan. 6 attack
Posted from npr.org
Voting
Elections
Election 2020
Congress
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 3
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Anyone that opposes protections to our representative democratic process does not want free and fair elections.
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The part I agree with is not requiring the VP to certify the election...makes no sense.
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Completely disagree with raising the objection threshold. What I can agree with as at least one and one, with at least one from the state being challenged. OR 1/3 of each CHAMBER without the state being challenged. If Arizona itself thinks something funny is going on with their vote, it shouldn't, take 1/3 of the chamber to raise an objection. Likewise, if everyone can see something funny is going on in Arizona, but their delegation is riding a corrupt vote into office and refuses to take a closer look, the rest of Congress can overrule their obstinacy.
I also completely disagree with requiring a supermajority to uphold objections. We don't require a supermajority to be elected. These folks represent the will of the people. If the majority of the people think something is fishy, then it is fishy.
Finally, I mildly disagree with removing the VP. VP is President of the Senate. I understand that this could create a conflict of interest. But... Biden is a former Senator. As is Harris, Obama, Gore, and Quayle just from the past 6 Presidencies.. (Plus some folks who never made it like Booker, Clinton, Warren, Sanders, just to name a few recent examples). So moving it t from the VP to a different Senator is no guarantee of removing that conflict of interest. Additionally, that was out to the test in 2021... and held.
I also completely disagree with requiring a supermajority to uphold objections. We don't require a supermajority to be elected. These folks represent the will of the people. If the majority of the people think something is fishy, then it is fishy.
Finally, I mildly disagree with removing the VP. VP is President of the Senate. I understand that this could create a conflict of interest. But... Biden is a former Senator. As is Harris, Obama, Gore, and Quayle just from the past 6 Presidencies.. (Plus some folks who never made it like Booker, Clinton, Warren, Sanders, just to name a few recent examples). So moving it t from the VP to a different Senator is no guarantee of removing that conflict of interest. Additionally, that was out to the test in 2021... and held.
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