Senators Collins, Manchin Announce 32 Cosponsors For Senate ECA Reforms
New Cosponsors include: Senate Leaders Schumer and McConnell and Senate Rules Committee Leaders Klobuchar and Blunt
Washington, D.C.—Following this week’s strong, bipartisan vote of 14-1 in the Senate Rules Committee, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced today that the Senate’s legislation to reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 now has a total of 32 cosponsors.
The 10 new cosponsors announced today include: Senate Leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ranking Member Roy Blunt (R-MO); Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-SD); and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tom Carper (D-DE); Catherine Cortez- Masto (D-NV); and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
“We are pleased to announce that the Senate’s ECA Reform effort now has 32 cosponsors,” said Senators Collins and Manchin. “This carefully crafted reform is the result of months of bipartisan negotiation in the Senate. We are grateful to have the support of so many of our colleagues including both Senate Leaders and the leaders of the Senate Rules Committee. We will keep working to enact this important legislation this year.”
In addition to Senators Collins and Manchin, the 22 earlier cosponsors include: Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Warner (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
Three of the bill’s supporters, Senators Manchin, Blunt, and Padilla, are former Secretaries of State.
On August 3rd, at the invitation Senators Klobuchar and Blunt, Senators Collins and Manchin provided remarks before the Rules Committee in support of their legislation. On September 14, Congressmen Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Fred Upton (MI-6) introduced the House companion to the Senate legislation. Senators Collins and Manchin first introduced the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act on July 20th.
The bill includes the following provisions:
1) Electoral Count Reform Act. This section would reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 to ensure that electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President. It would replace ambiguous provisions of the 19th-century law with clear procedures that maintain appropriate state and federal roles in selecting the President and Vice President of the United States as set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Click HERE for a one-pager on the Electoral Count Act reform section.
2) Presidential Transition Improvement Act. This section would help to promote the orderly transfer of power by providing clear guidelines for when eligible candidates for President or Vice President may receive federal resources to support their transition into office. Click HERE for a one-pager on the presidential transition section.
Click HERE for the text of the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act.
