Congress set to reform how presidential elections are certified
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Sens. Joe Manchin and Susan Collins. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Congress is poised to pass legislation — as part of a sweeping annual spending bill — to reform an 1887 law that determines how presidential elections are certified by Congress.
Why it matters: The bill is Congress’ response to former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the resulting ransacking of the Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6.
- Among Trump’s schemes were pressure campaigns to have lawmakers vote against certifying the Electoral College results and to have then-Vice President Mike Pence attempt to unilaterally reject electors.
Driving the news: The Senate on Thursday voted 68-29 to pass the annual spending bill that serves as the vehicle for the reform bill, which was crafted by a bipartisan group of senators earlier this year.
- The House is expected to vote on the bill later Thursday, ahead of a Friday deadline to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown.
The details: The bill would make it more difficult to contest electors at the joint session of Congress to certify presidential elections. That includes:
- Raising the threshold to force a vote on an electoral objection from one House member and one senator to a fifth of each chamber.
- Clarifying the vice president’s role in the counting as purely ceremonial.
- Specifying that states can only extend voting in presidential elections if necessitated by “extraordinary and catastrophic” events.
- Requiring Congress to accept electors sent by governors to crack down on the ability of other state officials to send competing electoral slates.
It would also include a measure aimed at addressing flaws in the process of transitioning from one presidential election to another — a response to the General Services Administration's three-week delay in providing transition resources to then-President-elect Biden in 2020.
- The bill would allow multiple candidates to receive transition resources when there isn't a clear winner while requiring the GSA to ascertain the winner of the Electoral College.
- It would also require the GSA administrator to provide reports to Congress and the candidates on the transition, as well as a public written opinion justifying decisions about ascertainment.
