Understanding the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022

[Dennis Donovan]

Inside with Jen Psaki
Neal Katyal on Trump’s ability to overturn election results: “Congress has passed a new law called the Electoral Count Act of 2022… with a simple majority, they can say ‘We don’t trust this Michigan vote’ and attempt to throw out that state altogether.”
Video in tweet below
1:35 PM · Oct 13, 2024

Protect Democracy - Understanding the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022

September 18, 2024

The Electoral Count Act (ECA) governs the casting and counting of electoral votes for president and vice president every four years. The statute sets the timeline for states to appoint presidential electors in November and for electors to cast their votes in December, and describes the process that Congress should follow when it counts the states’ electoral votes in January. Originally enacted in 1887, the statute remained largely the same for well over a century and was badly in need of an update. It included antiquated and ambiguous language, and failed to offer clear guidance on key aspects of the process of counting electoral votes and resolving related disputes — weaknesses that rendered the statute open to misunderstanding or exploitation, and risked the peaceful transitions of power that have been a hallmark of our democracy.

In late December 2022, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act (S.4573 1) as part of omnibus appropriations legislation. The bill updates the ECA, providing much-needed clarity on the process of casting and counting electoral votes, striking a better balance between the roles of state and federal actors in that process, and eliminating many of the most concerning potential weaknesses in the law.

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Link to tweet

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Which is why Trump barely campaigns and mumbles everything. He knows the fix is in. /nt