One Outcome of Jan 6 Investigation: Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement

[ancianita]

Act of 2022

Legislative recommendations are key to the Jan 6 Committee's investigation. Although this bill was introduced before the committee could finish, it can still count as an important outcome of the House Select Committee's work, since Elector shenanigans were based on Republican legal interpretations of the old 1887 law -- some called the ECA unconstitutional.

Apparently, with bipartisan support by Mitch (critic of his party's lack of "quality" candidates) this should get to the Democratic House majority before Republicans turn it into a shitshow next year.

Here's a look at what Schumer's trying to pass.

S 4573
Introduced Jul 20, 2022 by Susan Collins (R-ME) & Joe Manchin (D-WV)
117th Congress (2021–2023)
38 Cosponsors (21 Democrats, 15 Republicans, 2 Independents)

HR 8824
Introduced Sep 14, 2022 by Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
No House Cosponsors

Here's a review of it by Democracy Docket from back in July:

How did Trump try to exploit the ECA?

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump and his allies used the ambiguities of the ECA to bolster their arguments that the results of the election could be overturned. The lack of clarity over the vice president’s role in the count fueled the pressure campaign on former Vice President Mike Pence to reject valid electoral votes. The guidelines for deciding between multiple slates of electors inspired Trump supporters to designate fake electors. Most notably, the mechanism to challenge a state’s electoral votes played a role in the Jan. 6 insurrection as Trump called on his supporters to pressure members of Congress to object to the electoral votes of several states.

What would the proposed bill do?

S. 4573, or the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, updates the ECA in several key ways by

-- Mandating that rules for selecting electors in each state be made prior to Election Day,
-- Clarifying that the vice president’s role in overseeing the counting of the electoral votes is only ceremonial,
-- Raising the threshold for objections to a state’s electoral votes from just a single member of the House and Senate to 20% of both chambers, and
-- Designating the governor as the sole state official (unless otherwise specified by state laws) responsible for submitting a certificate of electors in order to make it harder for a defeated presidential candidate to submit false electoral slates.

The bill allows the presidential candidate who lost to challenge a state’s certification of electors in federal courts on an expedited basis. Challenges would be heard by a three-judge panel with the option of a direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Under the proposal, Congress is required to count the electors submitted by the governor or, if challenged, the electors judged by a court to be valid.

S. 4573 also repeals an older 1845 law that allows states to appoint electors after Election Day in case of a “failed” election. Because the law never defines what a failed election is, Trump supporters cited this provision when arguing that state legislatures could appoint electors in defiance of the popular vote.

A separate section of the bill updates the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to allow multiple candidates to access funds and resources for their presidential transition in case of a disputed election. This came up most recently in 2020, when the Trump administration denied Biden’s campaign access to these resources for weeks after the election, but we also saw this happen in 2000 when the protracted election dispute delayed the transition and endangered U.S. national security...

Following the release of S. 4573, two members of the Jan. 6 committee, Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), released a statement indicating the committee would release its own recommendations on how to update the ECA, a suggestion the committee confirmed during its July 21 hearing.

https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/the-electoral-count-reform-act-unpacked/

I'd very much like to think that the Senate has considered the committee's recommendations on how to update the ECA, and that they'll get any bill revisions done in time for the bill's passage this week.

Unless the committee's recommendations are enacted ASAP, at least through this one bill, the country's not likely to get through 2024 without more strife. Not only should it never happen again, Democrats would be rightly faulted if we'd not done anything to prevent its happening again. So we should be very glad that Schumer will see this through.

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. I don't understand why people's hair isn't on fire over this part:

The bill allows the presidential candidate who lost to challenge a state’s certification of electors in federal courts on an expedited basis. Challenges would be heard by a three-judge panel with the option of a direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Under the proposal, Congress is required to count the electors submitted by the governor or, if challenged, the electors judged by a court to be valid.

Giving final authority of the certification of electors to judges who aren’t accountable to the voters is terrifying to me. Imagine how the 2020 election have unfolded if this reform was in place at the time.

I would much rather keep the authority with the governor, who, if he disenfranchises millions of voters, can be recalled by the voters.

[ancianita]

2. Because media doesn't care about its crucial importance. Media's got a corporate soul.

So we have to spread this around wherever we do social media. I just put it up on Facebook, and hope others would, too.

Biden and/or Schumer have to do some major interviews on this bill. They've only got a couple more official work days to get this passed, or we are going to again be screwed around with in 2024.

I'm with you about governors, but also with those who give state constitutions primacy. Because Moore v Harper could wreck that. And SCOTUS might singlehandedly turn this country into a bunch of secesssionist DISUnited States.