for the past 6 months, I have been pleased to work with a bipartisan working group of about a dozen Senators for potential reforms of the Electoral Count Act and some related matters. I particularly want to thank our leaders of that bipartisan group, Senators Collins and Manchin, for organizing the group, keeping us focused on getting results, and leading to a process that has resulted in a positive outcome. This week, we are unveiling our proposed legislation. Our legislation, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 will reform and modernize the badly outdated 1887 ECA. In 1887, the Electoral Count Act was passed. It is in bad need of reform. On July 18, 2022, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial authored by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State Jim Baker, who had previously served as Chief of Staff for President Reagan. In this editorial they wrote: We stand on opposite sides of the partisan divide, but we believe it is better to search for solutions together than to remain divided. This is particularly true of a vexing problem that could wreak havoc during the 2024 presidential election: the inadequacy of the Electoral Count Act of 1887. The act is an antiquated, muddled and potentially unconstitutional law that allows uncertainty during a critical step in the peaceful transfer of power. . . . Weaknesses in the law started to become apparent after the 2000 election.…
On the recordJuly 21, 2022
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