{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-celebrates-passage-of-electoral-count-act-reforms-to-protect-democracy", "King Celebrates Passage of Electoral Count Act Reforms to Protect Democracy", "2022-12-22", "2022", "2022-12", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with oversight of federal elections, today celebrated the Senate passing a package of democracy protections to ensure election results can\u2019t be exploited by bad-actors and prevent another January 6th, 2021. The bipartisan Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act \u2013 which contains several policy recommendations from Senator King\u2019s ECA discussion draft released in February \u2013 clarifies ambiguities in the outdated 1887 Electoral Count Act (ECA) to protect the will of voters and updates procedures for the counting and certification of electoral votes for the presidency.\n\nThe ECA Reform Act passed the Senate in a bipartisan 68-29 vote as part of the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Package.\n\n\u201cToday, the Senate took a necessary, historic, and commonsense step to remove dangerous ambiguities from the process governing presidential elections and protect our fragile American democracy. The Electoral Count Reform Act is the most important piece of legislation we\u2019ve passed this Congress because it protects the foundation of our entire democratic system,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cAfter attempts to overturn a free and fair election in 2021 exposed dangerous vulnerabilities in the antiquated Electoral Count Act, this bill was essential to defuse the ticking timebomb at the heart of our system of government. Now, as some continue to raise doubts about our electoral system, the bill ensures the ECA can never again be used as a weapon by disappointed candidates. The bipartisan Electoral Count Reform Act we passed today prevents abuse of the 1887 law by making the process for certifying a presidential election clearer and more resistant to manipulation and mischief.\n\n\u201cMake no mistake, this bill is no substitute for the comprehensive voting rights and process reforms we need to confront the wider challenges facing our democracy,\u201d Senator King continued. \u201cWhile I continue to look for ways to better protect the democratic process for all Americans, this effort will further guarantee that the will of the voters cannot be undermined once they\u2019ve made their choice. After over a year of work on this bill, I\u2019m proud my colleagues and I could find bipartisan consensus to stave off a looming crisis in our presidential election process. I want to thank Senators Durbin and Klobuchar who partnered with me on our first draft of the bill, the dozens of historians, lawyers, and experts who shared their knowledge, and all my Senate colleagues, particularly Senators Collins and Manchin, who helped get this critical effort across the finish line.\u201d\n\nThe Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act updates the outdated and vague 1887 Electoral Count Act to ensure that electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect the will of the voters in each state. The bill replaces ambiguous provisions with clear procedures to ensure the counting of electoral votes can\u2019t be exploited. Key provisions in the bill include:\n\nClarifying the Role of the Vice President.\n\nAffirmatively states that the constitutional role of the Vice President in the counting of electoral votes is ceremonial, with no power to adjudicate conflicts that might arise.\n\nRaising the Objection Threshold.\n\nRaises the threshold to object to a state\u2019s electors to at least one-fifth of the duly chosen and sworn members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate \u2013 up from one member of each chamber.\n\nEnsuring a Single, Accurate Slate of Electors.\n\nDesignates each state\u2019s governor as responsible for submitting a single slate of electors to Congress.\n\nEnsures a state\u2019s executive can\u2019t submit a slate of electors in violation of state and federal law.\n\nExpediting Judicial Review.\n\nProvides an expedited review process, including a three-judge panel with appeal to the Supreme Court, of certain claims related to a state\u2019s slate of electors.\n\nPreventing Moving or Canceling of Elections.\n\nRequires \u201cextraordinary and catastrophic\u201d events for a state to move their election, and removes a provision that allows states to declare failed elections.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-celebrates-passage-of-electoral-count-act-reforms-to-protect-democracy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.70790683478117, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}