From September 22, 2022 post.
Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) supported the passage of H.R. 8873, the Presidential Election Reform Act, which would amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to clarify the role of Constitutional officers in verifying presidential electoral votes and to strengthen the integrity of future presidential elections. The bill was approved by a bipartisan vote of 229-203.
“I was proud to join my colleagues in this bipartisan effort to strengthen the process of our presidential elections and to uphold the principles of democracy. We all want to ensure that the will of the people is reflected in our election outcomes and that unauthorized individuals do not interfere with the tallied vote,” said Congressman Bishop. “This bill reaffirms the responsibility of the vice president, state officials, and local election officials to report valid and reliable election results, free from outside interference.”
The Presidential Election Reform Act will implement several measures to update and strengthen the Electoral Count Act of 1887. This legislation will:
- Reaffirm that the vice president has no authority or discretion to reject official electoral slates or delay the count in any material way
- Detail the Constitutional grounds upon which Members may object to a state’s electoral votes by
- Increasing the objection threshold to one-third of each chamber – rather than allowing a single Member to object
- Requiring a majority vote in each chamber to sustain an objection
- Prevent governors from unlawfully discarding election results by
- Requiring governors to transmit lawful election results to Congress in a timely fashion
- Authorizing presidential candidates to obtain a federal court order compelling a noncompliant state official to deliver its election results
- Prevent state legislators from attempting to alter the outcome of an election by
- Prohibiting election officials from refusing to certify valid presidential election results and from changing election procedures after an election has already occurred
- Barring state legislatures from “taking back” their electoral appointment power to overturn the results of an election
- Allowing presidential candidates to seek a federal court order enforcing state election officials’ obligation to count ballots and certify election results
Original source can be found here.
