"The bill introduced this week would create blocks against the specific maneuvers Mr. Trump attempted. It would clarify that the vice president’s role in certifying electoral votes is 'solely ministerial'; that speaks to the former president’s efforts to coerce Vice President Mike Pence — with the help of a mob — into rejecting the votes of several states. It would raise the threshold for Congress to challenge a state’s submitted results from a single member of both chambers to at least one-fifth of members; that answers last year’s frivolous objections from six GOP senators and more than 100 representatives.
"Perhaps most important are changes that
would impede state-level mischief. By identifying governors as
responsible for submitting a slate of electors, appointed according to
rules in place before Election Day, the legislation would exclude
competing lists from other officials. Better yet is a process to counter
a rogue governor who lodges an illegitimate submission for approval by a
friendly House or Senate. Under the reformed act, any such attempt
could be challenged by a vice-presidential or presidential candidate in
federal courts, to whose judgment Congress would be bound. Finally, the
bill would ensure that state legislatures can’t simply override the
popular vote by calling it a 'failed election.'” -- Washington Post editorial board today on the Senate bill reforming the Electoral Count Act, a bill that Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman have called "surprisingly good." As the editorial goes on to note, the bill doesn't fix everything and is not a slam- dunk to get passed out of the Senate. It does nothing to address the voter suppression/ nullification mischief that Republicans have turned into an art form. But, if passed, it would protect against the most flagrant abuses that the MAGA rats engaged in, and are planning for the future, from easily happening again.
