No Go on Voting Rights and Election Reforms
While the legislation did not pass last week, there is a small group of Senators turning last week’s discussions into momentum for a narrower bipartisan effort to reexamine the 1887 law that governs how Congress counts Electoral College votes from each state. The law came under scrutiny in the wake of last year’s January 6 attack on the Capitol, which was aimed at disrupting that counting process. Members of the group are considering updating the 1887 law, the Electoral Count Act, to clarify that the vice president’s role in overseeing Congress’ certification of election results is ministerial (i.e., they can’t overturn the results). In addition, the group is looking at potentially raising the threshold for challenging election results. Other ideas for broader elections reform include giving poll workers additional protections from harassment and expanding the use of grants from the Election Assistance Commission, which provides guidance to state and local election officials. The group is in its early stages, and it could be weeks before a concrete proposal comes together.
NOTE: Senate Finance Committee Mental Health Hearing Scheduled for 1/26/22 Postponed… Stay Tuned for a February hearing!
Encourage confidence to act