Senators Collins, Manchin Announce ECA Reform Included in Omnibus Bill
Bipartisan Legislation Reforming the Electoral Count Act of 1887 is Cosponsored by 39 Senators
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced today that the Senate’s legislation to reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 will be included in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The omnibus will receive a vote in the Senate this week.
The bipartisan legislation has 39 Senate cosponsors, including Senate Leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Rules Committee Chairman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ranking Member Roy Blunt (R-MO).
“The Senate’s ECA reform effort is the result of nearly a year of bipartisan negotiation, including numerous meetings and debates among our colleagues as well as conversations with a wide variety of election experts and legal scholars,” said Senators Collins and Manchin. “Our bipartisan group worked tirelessly to draft this legislation that fixes the flaws of the archaic and ambiguous Electoral Count Act of 1887 and establishes clear guidelines for our system of certifying and counting electoral votes for President and Vice President. We are pleased that our legislation has been included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill and are grateful to have the support of so many of our colleagues. We look forward to seeing this bill signed into law.”
In addition to Senators Collins and Manchin, the core group of negotiators include: Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Warner (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Ben Sasse (R-NE).
The additional cosponsors include: Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Thune (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tom Carper (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Gary Peters (D-MI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
Senators Collins and Manchin first introduced the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act on July 20th. On August 3rd, at the invitation Senators Klobuchar and Blunt, Senators Collins and Manchin provided remarks before the Rules Committee in support of their legislation. On September 27th, the bill was favorably reported out of the Senate Rules Committee by a vote of 14-1.
The Electoral Count Reform Act would reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 to ensure that electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President. It would replace ambiguous provisions of the 19th-century law with clear procedures that maintain appropriate state and federal roles in selecting the President and Vice President of the United States as set forth in the U.S. Constitution.
Click HERE for a one-pager on the Electoral Count Act reform section.
Click HERE for a one-pager on the Presidential Transition Improvement section.
###
