McConnell Cracks Door to Electoral Count Act Reform; McConnell Open to Changing How Congress Certifies Presidential Elections

McConnell cracks door to Electoral Count Act reform:

“It obviously has some flaws. And it is worth, I think, discussing,” the Senate minority leader said Wednesday.

Mitch McConnell is signaling he’s open to reforming the Electoral Count Act, one year after a mass of Republicans objected to certification of President Joe Biden’s win ahead of an attempted insurrection.

Democrats are pursuing more sweeping election reforms and federalization of elections, but some lawmakers in both parties are also suggesting there may be more modest reforms that could pass on a bipartisan basis. Centrist Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema both endorsed pursuing work on the Electoral Count Act on Wednesday, as did a number of Republican senators.

The biggest move came from Senate Minority Leader McConnell, who Democrats theorize is merely trying to distract from their work on far more comprehensive election reform. Still, the GOP leader said in a brief interview that he would be open to entertaining changes to the 1887 law, which allows members of Congress to dispute election results.

“It obviously has some flaws. And it is worth, I think, discussing,” McConnell said Wednesday. —>READ MORE HERE

McConnell open to changing how Congress certifies presidential elections:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would consider changes to the way Congress certifies presidential elections, telling reporters in the Capitol Wednesday the system might need reform.

“It’s worth discussing,” the Kentucky Republican said.

Lawmakers in both parties are eyeing legislation that would change the ease with which lawmakers can object to presidential election results following last year’s riot at the U.S Capitol on Jan. 6, the day both the House and Senate met to certify President Joe Biden’s victory under the Electoral Count Act.

Eight Republican senators and 139 GOP House lawmakers objected to Biden’s victory in various states, slowing the certification process significantly. On the same day, rioters interrupted the lengthy process by storming the Capitol after violently pushing past police and security barriers. They sent lawmakers running for safety and left the Capitol in chaos for hours.

The elector objections and riot are now frequently linked by Democrats, who accuse the GOP of fueling the rioters and trying to overthrow an election, though a small handful of Democrats have objected to GOP presidential victories in recent decades. —>READ MORE HERE

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