The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for December 16, 2022
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
The Bulwark – Clock Is Ticking on Chance to Fix the Electoral Count Act
Roll Call – Schumer says he expects omnibus to include electoral count overhaul
Associated Press – What’s in the House, Senate bills overhauling Jan. 6 count
Brennan Center for Justice – How to Fix the 1887 Electoral Count Act
Find Law – Explaining the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022
Groups Taking Action:
ACLU, League of Women Voters, The Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights, Declaration for American Democracy
Today’s Script:Â (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)Â
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
With only a handful of days left in the 117th Congress, there is a scramble to work out House & Senate differences for a high-priority reform to protect our Presidential elections from another January 6th.
The Electoral Count Reform Act seeks to close loopholes in our Presidential election certification process, exploited by allies of former President Trump. Both versions define the Vice President’s role in the certification process, increase the threshold for objecting to a state’s count to one fifth of each of the U.S. House and Senate chambers, and to honor the popular vote by not allowing a state legislature to override that vote.
The Bulwark reports that differences between the House & Senate versions have hung up the bill. The Senate version has the votes it needs to overcome the filibuster, with 16 GOP Senators backing it, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Reps. Liz Cheney & Zoe Lofgren, sponsors of the House version, cite two deficiencies in the Senate version. Two terms for objecting to the certification are not defined – a potential loophole – and past court cases don’t allow the courts to be involved in vote count disputes. The House version writes that court review into its process.
The good news? Both Senate and House leadership are optimistic the reform will be passed before the end of the year.
We have details on each version and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.