BIPARTISAN EFFORTS TO REFORM THE ELECTORAL COUNT ACT (DISCUSSION DRAFT)
March 1, 2022
As a result of the 2020 presidential election experience, the ECA has been sharply criticized by judges, elected officials, and legal scholars. There is a growing bipartisan understanding that ECA reform is necessary to ensure the integrity of the country’s election system, the public’s trust in which was severely damaged by post-Election Day efforts to subvert the 2020 election.
A new bipartisan group in Congress has added to its scoping and discovery work four subtopics under the overarching topic of Electoral Count Act Reform: (a) Protecting Election Workers and Officials; (b) Voting Practices and Rights; (c) Election Assistance Commission and Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Grants; and (d) Presidential Transitions and Contingent Elections. The bipartisan Senators group has done well in choosing these subtopics to discuss, because they all involve issues that can lead to the subversion of the country’s presidential elections.
MEVC has prepared a memorandum assessing this current bipartisan effort to draft ECA-related reform legislation. It first provides a brief overview of the election reform landscape and describes each of the group’s subtopics, highlighting relevant proposals from other members of Congress or reform groups. Overall, this memorandum attempts to clarify the scope of the current bipartisan reform effort while identifying gaps in coverage to be explored further.
Click here for the full memorandum.
DANGEROUS FLAWS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PROCESS THAT THREATEN THE EXISTENCE OF OUR DEMOCRACY: REFORM PRIORITIES (DISCUSSION DRAFT)
February 1, 2022
While in some respects, the 2020 presidential election was a great success, the flaws in our system of electing presidents are clearer than ever. Indeed, in many states, there are ongoing efforts to make it easier to overturn the will of the voters, and Congress has been unable to counter those efforts by passing federal legislation to prevent election subversion.
Since early last year, MEVC has focused on three urgent problems with the current system, and in particular, the Electoral Count Act (ECA). MEVC crafted these priorities in recognition of the fact that other, similarly needed, and far broader reforms were being addressed in proposals from other able reform groups and by Congress.
MEVC’s view is that any future federal legislation should address:
States’ Cancellation or Nullification of Their Citizens’ Right To Vote for President;
Any Attempt to Obfuscate/Deny Actual Vote Counts; and
Disputes Regarding Improper Certification
Click here for the full statement of priorities.