House to begin voting on Electoral Count Act reform bill

The House of Representatives will begin voting on Wednesday Bill to reform election countingRepublican Rep. Liz Cheney and others are trying to prevent another January 6, 2021when pro-Trump thugs stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the electoral vote count for the 2020 presidential election.

The Presidential Election Reform Act, sponsored by Cheney and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a member of the House Jan. 6 committee, ensures that Congress receives from each state election credentials that accurately reflect voters’ wishes, requiring Congress Treat the electoral vote as a constitutional requirement and reiterate that the vice president’s role in approving the electoral vote is merely ministerial, after President Trump publicly urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to “reject fraudulently elected voters” . Pence refused, saying he had no authority to do so.

The bill also raises the threshold for any opposition to state electoral votes in the House or Senate from one member in each chamber to one-third in each chamber.

The bill is expected to pass the House, although it is unclear how much Republican support it will have. House Republican leaders are encouraging Republican members to vote against the bill. The measure still needs to pass the Senate before it can be signed by President Biden.

Wednesday’s first vote on a presidential election reform bill was procedural; a vote on the bill’s eventual passage has not been announced.

“What Donald Trump is trying to convince the vice president to do is illegal under current law, and we confirm that first, but we need to take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen another January 6,” Cheney said in a statement Tuesday. Telephone.

In the Senate, Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that a similar bill, the Electoral Turnover Reform and Presidential Transition Improvements Act, now has 10 Republican co-sponsors and 10 Democrats Co-sponsors. The fact that 10 Republicans signed as co-sponsors shows that the bill has enough support in the Senate.

“We are pleased that bipartisan support for these sensible and much-needed reforms to the Election Counting Act of 1887 continues to grow,” Manchin and Collins said in a statement Wednesday. “Our bill was elected across ideological spheres. Legal experts and organizations. We will continue to work to increase bipartisan support for our legislation to correct the flaws in this antiquated and ambiguous law.”

— Rebecca Kaplan contributed to this report