Bipartisan Senate group reaches deal to reform Electoral Count Act

A bipartisan group of senators reached a deal on Wednesday to reform a federal law and prevent a future presidential candidate from overturning the will of the people and the result of a valid presidential election.

The lawmakers have agreed to two bills that would reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which governs how electoral votes are counted following a presidential election. Citing ambiguities in the law, Donald Trump and his attorneys pushed his vice-president, Mike Pence, to disrupt the counting of electoral votes that showed he lost the 2020 election, escalating calls for the 135-year-old law to be reformed. Even before the election, experts warned the law was ambiguous and could be exploited.

The first bill is called the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, and would fix ambiguities in the existing law while clarifying when an incoming administration can access federal resources.

Under current law, Congress has to consider an objection to the counting of electoral votes if just one member of each house objects. One of the proposed bills would raise that threshold, requiring the support least 20% of members in each house to consider an objection. The bill also creates a judicial process with expedited review, first by a three-judge panel then by the US supreme court, over certain matters related to disputed electors.

The bill also clarifies that both presidential candidates should get access to presidential transition funds while an election result is disputed. Trump delayed giving Joe Biden access to resources to transition in the White House after the 2020 election.

The Enhanced Election Security and Protection Act is the second proposal, and would up criminal penalties against people convicted of intimidating or threatening candidates, voters and poll workers, amid a significant uptick in threats after 2020. It increases the maximum penalty for those who make threats from one to two years in prison.

The bill would require election records to be preserved, help the US Postal Service deal with mail-in ballots and reauthorize for five years a commission that works with states to improve their voting practices.