US Senators consider changes to Electoral Count Act

The US Senate failed to bring two major pieces of voting rights legislation to a vote this month. Despite the temporary shelving of the bills, lawmakers are recently considering making changes to an election-related law, the Electoral Count Act.

A bipartisan group of senators is looking into legislation that could make changes to the Electoral Count Act or how Congress would count electoral votes. This comes as the more obscure law has fallen under scrutiny as of late following the January 6 Capitol insurrection last year.

Twice-impeached, former President Donald Trump tried to pressure his then-vice president Mike Pence into blocking the certification of the 2020 elections in a desperate attempt to overturn the election. This has led to a concern that the certification process needs clarification.

This also follows the upper chamber’s failure to pass voting rights legislation as Senate Republicans, including two Democratic Senators, opposed making changes to the filibuster rules in order to advance the bills after much debate. Lawmakers are keen on passing some type of election reform in order to counter the restrictive voting measures Republican-led state legislatures are trying to implement.

Despite considering reforming the Electoral Count Act, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and several other Senate Democrats say that an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act is not a replacement for voting rights legislation. This was echoed by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who told reporters last week that while the administration supports an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, it cannot be a substitute for voting rights.

Meanwhile, with the Democratic Party in control of the Senate despite an even number of lawmakers on both sides, they plan to use Republican tactics in order to confirm US President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nomination. This follows the news that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is set to retire, leaving Biden a spot to fill in the high court.

Senate Democrats are planning to move Biden’s Supreme Court nomination on a quick timeframe, much like the one month that Republicans used to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Schumer has said that Biden’s nominee will receive an immediate hearing and will be considered and confirmed by the chamber with “all deliberate speed.”