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Senators may unveil Electoral Count Act reform proposal this week

Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Joe Manchin

The bipartisan Senate group led by Susan Collins and Joe Manchin intend to reveal their plan to update the Electoral Count Act in the coming days.

Alex Wong/Getty Images
David Meyers
By David MeyersJul 19, 2022
David Meyers

David Meyers is the Executive Editor of The Fulcrum. Before launching The Fulcrum, David spent more than two decades at CQ Roll Call, a leading publisher of political news and information. During his time there, David served as managing editor of Roll Call (“the newspaper of Capitol Hill”) and as managing editor of member information and research, which included co-editing the definitive biographical directory of Congress, “Politics in America.” David went on to lead all of CQ Roll Call’s congressional research teams as vice president of research and content development before shifting to a revenue and strategy role as vice president of business operations for Roll Call, working with the advertising and editorial teams to develop new revenue models and expand the company’s events business. David lives in Fairfax, Va., with his wife, two daughters and rottweiler. A graduate of Tufts University, David is a past president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. He is also a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which works to celebrate and advance the role of women and minorities in the media. David currently serves on the board of directors for Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station.

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A bipartisan effort to solidify the role of Congress and the vice president in certifying election results may move forward this week, as the committee investigating the Capitol riot prepares for another primetime hearing.

The Electoral Count Act sets the rules for finalizing presidential elections; Donald Trump and some of his supporters attempted to exploit ambiguities in the law in order to keep him in the White House. When that failed, thousands of people stormed the Capitol.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is leading a partisan effort to update the ECA with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, told reporters Monday that their bipartisan group expects to offer legislation this week.

“This turned out to be a more complex task than we anticipated, as always is the case when you're delving into an 1887 law that has ambiguous and outdated language, but I do anticipate that our group will introduce the bills this week,” Collins said, according to The Washington Post.

The ECA was passed after three states submitted multiple slates of electors in the 1887 presidential contest. In order to prevent future confusion, Congress passed a law that outlines the process and procedures for counting electoral votes. But the language is vague in some areas, including the role of the vice president – which Trump attempted to exploit by having Mike Pence overturn the results.

Pence refused, Trump and many of his followers were outraged, and the insurrection ensued with some people even demanding that Pence be hanged.

According to the Post, the Collins-Manchin bill is expected to clear up ambiguities in the ECA. It will:

  • Set deadlines for states to change election rules.
  • Make clear that states cannot select electors after Election day.
  • Increase the requirement for Congress to object to a state’s slate of electors (currently one member from each chamber).
  • State clearly that the vice president’s role is purely ceremonial.

The nonpartisan group CommonSense American recently released survey data showing overwhelming support for reforming the ECA. The group found that 97 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of Republicans agree that the vice president’s role in the process must be clarified.

CommonSense American also found strong support for other elements of the ECA reform bill, including 80 percent support for barring states from changing how electors are selected after Election Day, and 76 percent backing for making it more difficult for members of Congress to object to a state’s electoral slate.

The committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot will hold its ninth – and second primetime – hearing Thursday. The panel’s members will focus on Trump’s actions on that day. Matthew Pottinger, who served on the National Security Council, and former White House press aide Sarah Matthews are both expected to testify. Both resigned their positions in response to the insurrection.

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Congress Bill Spotlight: Remove the Stain Act

A deep look at the fight over rescinding Medals of Honor from U.S. soldiers at Wounded Knee, the political clash surrounding the Remove the Stain Act, and what’s at stake for historical justice.

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Should the U.S. soldiers at 1890’s Wounded Knee keep the Medal of Honor?

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The Recipe for a Humanitarian Crisis: 600,000 Venezuelans Set to Be Returned to the “Mouth of the Shark”

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The Recipe for a Humanitarian Crisis: 600,000 Venezuelans Set to Be Returned to the “Mouth of the Shark”

On October 3, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to end Temporary Protected Status for roughly 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, effective November 7, 2025. Although the exact mechanisms and details are unclear at this time, the message from DHS is: “Venezuelans, leave.”

Proponents of the Administration’s position (there is no official Opinion from SCOTUS, as the ruling was part of its shadow docket) argue that (1) the Secretary of DHS has discretion to determine designate whether a country is safe enough for individuals to return from the US, (2) “Temporary Protected Status” was always meant to be temporary, and (3) the situation in Venezuela has improved enough that Venezuelans in the U.S. may now safely return to Venezuela. As a lawyer who volunteers with immigrants, I admit that the two legal bases—Secretary’s broad discretion and the temporary nature of TPS—carry some weight, and I will not address them here.

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For the Sake of Our Humanity: Humane Theology and America’s Crisis of Civility

The American experiment has been sustained not by flawless execution of its founding ideals but by the moral imagination of people who refused to surrender hope. From abolitionists to suffragists to the foot soldiers of the civil-rights movement, generations have insisted that the Republic live up to its creed. Yet today that hope feels imperiled. Coarsened public discourse, the normalization of cruelty in policy, and the corrosion of democratic trust signal more than political dysfunction—they expose a crisis of meaning.

Naming that crisis is not enough. What we need, I argue, is a recovered ethic of humaneness—a civic imagination rooted in empathy, dignity, and shared responsibility. Eric Liu, through Citizens University and his "Civic Saturday" fellows and gatherings, proposes that democracy requires a "civic religion," a shared set of stories and rituals that remind us who we are and what we owe one another. I find deep resonance between that vision and what I call humane theology. That is, a belief and moral framework that insists public life cannot flourish when empathy is starved.

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The Myth of Colorblind Fairness

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The “old boy” network, as its name suggests, is nothing new—evoking smoky cigar lounges or golf courses where business ties are formed, careers are launched, and those not invited are left behind. Opportunity reproduces itself, passed down like an inheritance if you belong to the “right” group. The old boy network is not the only example of how a social network can discriminate. In fact, my research shows it may not even be the best one. And how social networks discriminate completely changes the debate about diversity.

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