Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney has introduced her own version of Electoral Count Act reform legislation, which she says would prevent future attempts by former President Trump or others to try to “steal” a presidential election “.
The legislation, which follows a separate effort in the Senate, comes after experts found ambiguity in the 1887 law that sets out the procedures for certifying and counting electoral votes for the president.
Trump leaned into imprecise language in his repeated demands of former Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to accept votes counted and certified by states.
The coup effort was mentioned in Trump’s second impeachment as well as investigations by the House of Representatives’ January 6th Committee. There is an investigation by the Justice Department into the “fake” voting system.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., introduced legislation to reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which governs how Congress handles the Electoral College’s voting in presidential elections
“Our proposal seeks to uphold the rule of law for any future presidential election by ensuring that self-interested politicians cannot steal guarantees from the people that our government derives its power from the consent of the governed,” wrote Cheney and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D- Calif.), who serves with her on the Jan. 6 panel and was House impeachment manager.
Lawmakers cite former President Trump’s “deliberately false allegations of voter fraud” as well as the primary victories at the national, state and local levels of candidates who “also embrace these lies and other baseless conspiracy theories.”
“This raises the prospect of another attempt to steal a presidential election, perhaps with another attempt to corrupt Congress’ electoral process,” they write.
Legislation appears to be in the fast lane. The house rules committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with a house vote scheduled for Wednesday.
The bill affirms that the vice president has “no authority or discretion to reject official state electoral lists, delay the count in any material manner, or make procedural decisions having such effect,” the two lawmakers write in a Wall Street Journal op -ed.
The bill references the 12th Amendment, which states: “The President of the Senate [the vice president] all documents will be opened in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives and then the votes will be counted. The person who has the most votes for President is President if that number is a majority of the total number of electors appointed.’
The bill is on a fast track, with a House vote expected this week
Ceremonial: The bill clarifies the “ceremonial” role of the vice president, who presides over the Senate and a joint vote-counting session
Cheney Cites “Prospect of Another Attempt to Steal a Presidential Election”
The bill states: “On January 6, 2021, a mob professing support for then-President Trump violently attacked the United States Capitol to prevent a joint session of Congress from certifying the Electoral College votes, the Joseph R. Biden as the 46th appointed President of the United States’
Former President Trump attempted to overturn the election and “knew that this scheme would violate both the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887,” write Cheney and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
The bill also states that a candidate must have “a good faith basis for the allegations of fact or law made.” Cheney writes that Trump continues to make “willfully false allegations of voter fraud.” His allies, including Rudy Giuliani and attorney Disney Powell, filed numerous election lawsuits that were dismissed out of court
The bill highlights the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol aimed at “preventing other future unlawful attempts to overthrow presidential elections and ensuring future peaceful transfers of presidential power.
The bill provides for the “limited deadline extension” for voter submissions – amid efforts by Trump allies to get Pence to send voters back to states beyond the Jan. 6 legal deadline for more despite dozens of previous defeats in court to have time for challenges .
The Role of the Vice President in the 12th Amendment
“The President of the Senate [the vice president] all documents will be opened in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives and then the votes will be counted. The person who has the most votes for President is President if that number is a majority of the total number of electors appointed.’
– 12th Amendment
The exceptions would be for a “catastrophic event” in the state that “prevented a substantial portion of the state’s electorate from casting a vote on such a day or resulted in the destruction of a substantial portion of the ballots already cast.” .
The numbers involved must be “sufficient to potentially affect that candidate’s ability to win the election in respect of one or more presidential electors.”
It’s also building in some financial incentives after a series of efforts to try to stall or void votes in states that have backed Joe Biden.
“If a court finds that someone filing a motion to delay proceedings did not have ‘a good faith basis for the allegations of fact or law made in the lawsuit,’ they could be awarded triple attorneys’ fees in the lawsuit .” according to the bill.
It would also require states to conduct elections under current rules before Election Day.
A Senate committee is scheduled to vote on its version of the bill on September 27.
Cheney lost her elementary school this summer and was relieved of her post as chair of the GOP conference after leading efforts to impeach Trump after the Capitol riot.